In his strongest statement to date, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said after practice today in Owings Mills that he expects outside linebackers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, as well as receivers Steve Smith Sr. and Breshad Perriman to be ready for the season opener against Buffalo on Sept. 11.
"As far as the preseason, it goes back to we'll see," said Harbaugh, whose team will play in its first preseason game Thursday against the reigning NFC champion Carolina Panthers at M&T Bank Stadium. "They all want to play. They're all working really hard to play in the preseason."
Harbaugh said that the 33-year-old Suggs, coming off a torn Achilles tendon suffered in last season's opener against Denver "is the closest" to getting back on the practice field.
"He had the injury the soonest, he's already on me about practicing," Harbaugh said. "I'm holding him back right now. He'll be out there soon practicing. How much we play him [in the preseason] remains to be seen. The other guys are probably a little longer away than he is."
The 37-year-old Smith sustained a torn Achilles tendon later in the 2015 season, while the 32-year old Dumervil had surgery on his foot after the season. Perriman, the team's top draft choice a year ago, suffered a knee injury on the first day of training camp last year and re-injured it this spring. He has yet to play a game.
No word on Flacco
Harbaugh wouldn't give as definitive of an answer about whether quarterback Joe Flacco would play against the Panthers. But the read-between-the-lines answer is that it seems unlikely that Ravens fans will get a chance to see their first glimpse of Flacco in game action since he tore two ligaments in his knee last November.
"We're not making any announcements, but we do want to be common sensical about it," Harbaugh said. "We want to see our young players play. The only reason I say anything about Joe, I think everyone can figure what's going to happen. I just don't want to get into everybody, I don't want to talk about who's going to play and who's not going to play.
"We're going to play the young guys. We're going to play the guys we need to find out about. Anybody who's got a health issue or anything like that, is not figuring on playing."
Light day
There was a lot made about whether last year's training camp regimen — which included going to Philadelphia for a three-day joint practice with the Eagles — contributed to the Ravens starting the regular season 0-3 en route to a disappointing 5-11 finish.
Whether that played into Harbaugh's decision to give his team an easy practice Tuesday without helmets and pads isn't clear, though he did imply that the number of injuries that have transpired since training camp began played into the tone of the shorter, nonphysical session.
Asked what he was trying to accomplish with a 2-hour, 15-minute session that seemed more reminiscent of organized team activities than training camp, Harbaugh said, "It's probably twofold a little bit. It's an opportunity to recover a little bit. We've had some really good practices, some really physical practices and this is an opportunity to recover a little bit from that and get ready for Thursday night and just focus on attention to detail.
"We emphasized technique and communication. We want our guys to exaggerate technique and exaggerate communication in this setting, to build muscle memory in the way we play."
Two veterans definitely noticed a difference from last summer.
"It's easy to say we didn't do things right [in training camp last year] because we started out 0-3, I don't know," veteran offensive guard Marshal Yanda said. "I feel like Coach does a good job, and everybody in the building does of trying to fix what we did and not make the same mistake twice. Not to say it was a mistake, but they're definitely doing things different this year."
Yanda said Tuesday's practice could help the younger players as much as the veterans, if not more.
"We need some time [to recover], it's two days before a game and obviously the young guys are going to play a lot in this game and it gives [Harbaugh] a good opportunity to showcase what they have and what they can bring to this team," Yanda said. "It's also nice for them not to be banging today because it might take away from them on Thursday. I think it's a great move."
Said defensive tackle Brandon Williams, "I think the biggest thing this year is to work on technique, work on what you need to do for the younger guys, for the older guys to get off their feet. Been running and gunning the past few days. Even though you're moving fast, you can practice right by staying up and using just your hands and feet. It kind of slows it down a bit, but you're still moving fast."
End zone
Maryland governor Larry Hogan made his annual visit to Ravens practice, mingling with fans in the bleachers and talking to the team afterward. … The next open practice will be Saturday morning in Owings Mills.