Ten years ago this September, the Ravens started over. Owner Steve Bisciotti had fired Brian Billick, an emotionally rending decision that led to him hiring a largely unproven coach named John Harbaugh. Meanwhile, the team prepared to test its latest solution at quarterback, an unassuming, lightly...
The rookie cannot stop to talk on the practice field. Too loud. “Lamar! Lamar! Sign this, Lamar! Please!” This is the soundtrack of his nascent NFL existence, sung by a chorus of children who see in him their own wildest fantasies of athletic improvisation. And Lamar Jackson loves it. Seems that...
Ozzie Newsome was director of pro personnel for the Cleveland Browns before the team moved to Baltimore for the 1996 season. Then-owner Art Modell named him vice president of player personnel once the team became the Ravens and six years later, Newsome became the NFL’s first African-American general...
In 2004, the Washington Redskins gave a seven-year, $43 million contract to a quarterback described by one unnamed AFC general manager as “on his last legs.” The next year, late in the first round of the NFL draft, Washington took his heir apparent. It was business as usual in the league. For as...
The nickname was bestowed on Don Martindale the first day he arrived at little Defiance College. A roommate and teammate named Donald Brown saw Martindale’s athletic bag and made reference to a popular TV game-show host. “I walked in and I had ‘Martindale’ on my bag and he said, ‘Hey ‘Wink,’ ”...
If expectations around the Ravens’ three new wide receivers are dangerously high, they seem to match what Michael Crabtree has been telling John Brown and Willie Snead IV. “Crab tells me every day, ‘We’re going to be doing something serious this year,’ ” Snead said. “And I believe it, too.” While...
On fourth-and-long, the rookie sensed the kill. At the snap, Ed Reed bolted through the Denver line, hurtled toward the punter and blocked the kick with a thud heard nationwide on “Monday Night Football.” Four plays later, the Ravens scored a touchdown en route to a 34-23 upset of the Broncos. ...
Lamar Jackson has a tough act to follow … and it’s himself. The kid has electric talent and proved that at midseason last year, leading the Ravens to the AFC North title. But he’s 22 years old and he clearly has a lot more to learn before anyone can start an informed debate about whether he’s going...
Lamar Jackson’s most encouraging moment Thursday, the Ravens’ third day of organized team activities this offseason and first open to reporters, might have been a post-practice self-assessment that was at odds with his coach’s. John Harbaugh said his starting quarterback “looked good. What you...
“Jeopardy!” champion James Holzhauer has become the sports world’s favorite adopted son, his stats tracked daily like an All-Star slugger’s, his rise to fame profiled by ESPN, his day job making him the face “of the American sports bettor.” On Monday night, he also drew attention from New England...
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said he was going to stay with the team’s theme of “right player, right price” during the second phase of free agency, and he has gotten three bargain-basement deals by agreeing to terms with outside linebackers Pernell McPhee and Shane Ray and wide receiver...
The Ravens continued to fill out their roster with veteran free agents Friday, addressing depth at key positions by signing outside linebacker Shane Ray and wide receiver Michael Floyd. Terms of the deals with the former first-round picks were not disclosed. Organized team activities begin Monday...