OWINGS MILLS — Ravens outside linebacker David Ojabo called his return to the field a “dream come true.”
Ojabo played in his first game against the Falcons on Saturday after having knee surgery last season. Ojabo did not register a tackle but did a solid job getting pressure on the quarterback.
Ojabo said he feels 100 percent healthy heading into the final preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. The Ravens are counting on Ojabo to boost the pass rush this season.
“There’s no better feeling, honestly,” Ojabo said about playing against Atlanta. “It’s what I do for a living: I enjoy it. I love competing. To be out here with the best of the best, man, it’s a dream come true, yet again. I know the type of player I am. You just have to go out there and put it on tape, honestly. I know the work I put in, too, so the work always comes to light.”
Ojabo tore his ACL in November, which ended his season after three games. Shortly thereafter, Ojabo met with coach John Harbaugh and they decided that the surgery gave him the best opportunity to be healthy for the 2024 season.
Ojabo, a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, also missed almost all of his rookie season, recovering from a torn Achilles.
In the limited time Ojabo has been on the field, he’s been impressive.
In his rookie year, Ohabo appeared in two games and had a forced fumble. Last season, he finished with six tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble before the surgery.
The Ravens hope Ojabo can take the next step in his development to fill the void at edge rusher. Now, he just needs to stay on the field during the regular season and make an even bigger impact. He has been working closely with Ravens pass rush coach Chuck Smith to improve at getting to the quarterback
“Chuck, [he’s] the guru,” Ojabo said. “He really knows what he’s talking about. Everything he says comes to light – regarding just moves to use, when to use it [and] how to use it – and we’re all just good listeners, honestly, because we’ll look over to him on the sideline in practice, and he’ll really walk us through a move to do on the sideline; we execute it, [and] it ends up working, so it’s just a testament to him and his knowledge and how he passes it down to all of us. It’s working.”
Ojabo will get more opportunities to make plays against the Packers and then he will look to carry that momentum into the regular season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 5th. Harbaugh was encouraged by Ojabo’s performance against Atlanta.
“I kind of expect [Ojabo] to play like that, but to see it out there the very first game, it was really neat because he wasn’t tentative at all,” Harbaugh said. “He was in a good mindset – in a gameday mindset, and he hadn’t played that much in the last couple of years, so that was quite a statement from him that way. Really, the way he’s been practicing is the way he played, so that’s what you want to see.”
