Cornerback Marlon Humphrey has been sidelined for most of OTAs and mandatory minicamp, and when on the field, he has mostly done individual work.
After Thursday’s final minicamp practice, Head Coach John Harbaugh was asked about Humphrey’s status.
“Just nagging things,” Harbaugh said. “He should be ready for training camp. Shouldn’t be a problem.”
Humphrey missed the start of last season with a foot injury that required surgery, and he had a lingering calf injury that kept him out of four games. He returned for the AFC Championship game but played just 13 snaps after missing the previous two games.
Kyle Van Noy Grateful to Know What Position He’s Playing
Outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy is coming off his best season as a pro despite not playing until Week 4. The 33-year-old re-signed in Baltimore on a two-year deal coming off a nine-sack campaign in which he helped the Ravens lead the NFL in sacks.
After mandatory minicamp on Thursday, Van Noy talked about how throughout his career he’s been asked to play on-ball and off-ball linebacker, and juggling both may have held him back.
“I just want to continue to show myself and show people that I can still play at a high level,” Van Noy said. “I feel like I’ve been underappreciated in my career. I don’t think I’ve lost a step – in my eyes – just because I’ve been playing different positions my entire career.”
This season, he figures to be a major piece in Baltimore pass rush game again, and he’s thankful he knows what position he’ll be playing.
“I’ve been asked to do a lot, and I think that may have hindered some things because I wasn’t able to focus on pass rush or covering people. I was never able to focus on just one specific thing,” Van Noy said. “This year, stemming from last year, I was able to focus on pass rush that entire time.
“It’ll be like my third year ever out of my 11 that I get to focus on just pass rushing. The other year was in 2019, where I had a really good year. Last year was just all pass rush. I’m expecting big things from myself, and hopefully you guys are, too.”
Qadir Ismail Working With Tight Ends and Receivers
On Thursday, rookie undrafted free agent Qadir Ismail was seen doing individual work with the tight ends. Listed as a receiver, the 6-foot-6 Ismail certainly has the frame to play tight end.
“It’s exploring options. Everything nowadays, you put them in groups, you call them tight ends and wide receivers, but a lot of times, they do the same jobs,” Harbaugh said. “Having him over there working on some of those techniques was what we were doing. He’ll probably be kind of an inside receiver type of a guy; not to say that he couldn’t go outside and go get fades and things like that, he’s so big.”
Qadir, the son of Ravens great Qadry Ismail, has changed positions before. He started his college career as a quarterback at Villanova before transitioning to receiver.
His size is enticing, and during Thursday’s practice he caught a touchdown with his dad watching.
“I would say he’s really looked good. He’s had a nice camp,” Harbaugh said. “[He] signed as a tryout player. Obviously, he’s got a family pedigree – it’s incredible – but he’s doing it all on his own, and he made a couple of catches today. He looked good out there.”
Malik Cunningham Turning Heads at Receiver
Speaking of position changes, Malik Cunningham is in his first couple of months as a full-time receiver after moving from quarterback.
Throughout OTAs and mandatory minicamp, Cunningham hasn’t looked out of place at the position, and he has been heavily involved every practice.
“Malik has looked good at wide receiver. He’s shown a lot of speed, a lot of quickness,” Harbaugh said. “[He’s] kind of a natural at the position, and I’ve seen that he understands the game from the perspective of the quarterback, so [his] his routes and coverage and timing and things like that have been excellent.”
Coming out of college, Cunningham was known for his athleticism, running for 3,184 yards over five years. Now, he’ll try to make an NFL roster playing a relatively new position.