Owings Mills, Maryland — On Tuesday, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson practiced for the first time since May 22, and the reigning Most Valuable Player was in prime form.
Jackson’s first pass in a scaled-back drill without helmets went to tight end Mark Andrews in the end zone corner. On one of his final attempts, Jackson found wide receiver Zay Flowers in a tight window for another touchdown pass.
“I mean, Lamar Jackson is Lamar Jackson,” Ravens wide receiver Nelson Agholor stated following Tuesday’s practice. “He does an incredible job of just going through his journey. He has incredible arm angles, but he also understands how to see everything in the game and when the defense is giving you anything.”
It was shocking to see Jackson walk onto the field Tuesday after missing four of the first five optional organized team activities (OTAs) this spring. This is the last week of voluntary workouts for Baltimore, which will undergo a mandatory minicamp next week.
Neither Jackson nor Ravens coach John Harbaugh were expected to talk with media on Tuesday.
Last week, when asked if it was frustrating that Jackson missed the entirety of the team’s OTAs, Harbaugh responded, “It’s this time of year; it’s a voluntary period. It’s not something we usually comment on. We can’t, and that’s simply how things are this time of year. So I cannot speak for somebody who is not present.”
Jackson and the Ravens offense appeared rusty at times. There were times when Baltimore took too long to escape the huddle, resulting in an incomplete pass to Agholor due to a miscommunication.
“I always say [that] people don’t realize how cerebral Lamar Jackson is,” Agholor stated. “He conducts one-on-one conversations with you about what he sees and what you could see… So, even today… To be honest, I had an in-cut, basic [route], and my mannerisms were the reason why I didn’t complete the [catch], because I saw something, and he saw something different.”
When they reached the sideline, Jackson showed him the tape.
“He was like, ‘Yo, Nelly, the reason why I’m thinking [that you should] keep going is because I look at this nickel, and I see his body language,’ [and] I say, ‘Well, I did take a snapshot of the nickel, and I thought he was going to drop,'” Agholor recalled. “But he said, ‘He’s not going to get there by the time I zip it; I’m going to zip it two yards from here.'” And that is what distinguishes a special quarterback.
