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Ravens cornerback Asa Jackson and tight end Allen Reisner left Thursday's preseason opener with injuries.

Instant analysis of the Ravens' preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at M&T Bank Stadium.

Retirement announcements can often be sad, but I was happy for Ravens receiver Steve Smith Sr., who said Monday he will retire at the end of this season, his 15th in the NFL.

The Ravens may have lost another defensive reserve for the entire season as Brent Urban suffered a torn biceps muscle in Thursday's practice.

Dennis Pitta is a fixture on the practice field during training camp, though not in the capacity that the tight end, quarterback Joe Flacco, or any Ravens executives, coaches and teammates would like.

It was a relatively sloppy practice, characterized by several offside penalties and a flurry of drops.

The Ravens' first depth chart featured few surprises with Kamar Aiken and Crockett Gilllmore in line to start.

A former NFL defensive back, secondary coach Chris Hewitt knows what his players face every day. It's that experience, and his balance of intensity and empathy, that leads Ravens players and coaches to believe he's the man to lead the secondary back to prominence in 2015.

It will be interesting to see how Russell Wilson's new contract affects future talks between the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Joe Flacco.

Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith has become one of the top defensive backs in the league by shutting down the wide receiver he's covering.

Ravens training camp highlights for Friday, July 31.

Observations from the first full-team practice of Ravens training camp.

The Baltimore Sun is breaking down where the Ravens stand at each position, including predictions on how many players the team will keep at each spot and which players are locks, long shots or ¿on the bubble.¿ Today, we highlight cornerbacks and safeties.

There seems to be a consensus among football pundits leaguewide: The Ravens, who annually lose veteran talent and replace it with young and unproven players, will again enter the season as one of the better teams in the AFC, and in good position to make the playoffs for the seventh time in head coach John Harbaugh's eight seasons.

Getting Sam Koch and Jimmy Smith signed were big first moves, but the Ravens will have plenty more to do next offseason.

The Ravens were 10-6 last season and were just seconds away from the AFC title game, but there are plenty of areas where they can get better.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh will preach about the importance of players earning their spot, but there are few starting jobs up for grabs for AFC North team.

Ravens' officials won't have to make roster decisions for nearly 2 1/2 months, but past trends could provide a glimpse to what direction they'll go.

Although veteran starting cornerback Lardarius Webb isn't running for office, he campaigned as smoothly as any politician Wednesday for the Ravens' vacant punt returner job.

As the Ravens began a three-day mandatory minicamp Tuesday, Suggs and Dumervil rejoined their teammates after skipping the voluntary portion of the offseason.

Torrey Smith and Marlon Brown both started for much of their rookie seasons. The Ravens don't necessarily need Breshad Perriman to do the same.

Now, defensive coordinator Dean Pees expressed confidence that the secondary will improve significantly this year.

Associate special teams coach Jerry Rosburg listed a number of candidates to return kicks and punts in place of departed return specialist Jacoby Jones, and only ruled out a handful of players in the open competition ¿ the offensive linemen.

If you're looking for the Ravens new offensive coordinator, he is easy to find. He has a slender build and looks like he should be in a court room or on Wall Street. The emotion is always on display.

Here's a look at several things to watch as the Ravens begin their third and final organized team activity Monday.

Ravens starting cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb were absent from an organized team activity practice Wednesday.

While we learned a little last week about Joe Flacco's adjustment to Marc Trestman's version of the West Coast offense, Timmy Jernigan's ascension to the starting defensive line and just how much longer 36-year-old wide receiver Steve Smith might play in the NFL, all of that has been sufficiently discussed and dissected.

The Ravens' 2014 rookie class provided big contributions last season. It appears that the group is primed for an even bigger sophomore season.

Now that veteran cornerback Cassius Vaughn has officially joined the Ravens on a one-year, $825,000 contract, he's intent on proving that he's a worthy investment.

As difficult an experience as the Ravens' playoff game loss to the New England Patriots was for cornerback Rashaan Melvin, it's also been a trying offseason for him.

The Ravens will have their first of three weeks of organized team activities, starting Tuesday at the Under Armour Performance Center. More than anything, the workouts will give the Ravens coaching staff a glimpse of what kind of shape certain players are in and how the rookie class acclimates with the veterans, along with providing players a precursor to the mandatory June 16-18 minicamp.

After striking out in earlier pursuits for a veteran free agent corner, the Ravens finally got their man, agreeing to a three-year deal with former New England Patriot Kyle Arrington.

Though the Ravens filled several needs in the draft, team officials continue to work to try and add a cornerback with former New England Patriot Kyle Arrington now available.

Veteran corner Kyle Arrington isn't officially available yet, but his release from the New England Patriots is imminent and the Ravens could have interest.

Several players who are in town are scheduled to attend the game, including Webb, wide receiver Steve Smith and former Ravens players Ed Reed, who officially retired from the NFL on Thursday after signing a one-day contract with the Ravens, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith, Detroit Lions safety James Ihedigbo and Lions linebacker Josh Bynes.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome believes Saturday's six picks will dictate the success of the 2015 draft.

Until April 30, the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, The Baltimore Sun will examine the Ravens¿ depth at each position, the potential of them adding to that spot early in the draft and some of the players who they could target.

Before the NFL turns over the league¿s calendar each year, top Ravens officials join owner Steve Bisciotti in Florida for a comprehensive look at the upcoming season and the one that will follow it, taking into account roster construction, salary cap issues and free agency.

General manager Ozzie Newsome stood next to Jimmy Smith at the Ravens' training complex a week ago and broke into a wide smile moments after the cornerback signed a four-year, $48 million contract extension.

Veteran tight end Dennis Pitta is participating in the Ravens' voluntary conditioning program that started Monday.

The Ravens expressed confidence that with their 10 picks, they will able to fill some of their primary needs in the 2015 NFL draft. They are thin at wide receiver, tight end and cornerback. Team officials want to add another pass rusher, too.

During a conference call with Ravens' season ticket and personal seat license holders Wednesday night, Bisciotti said he would be excited if the team came out of the April 30 first round with a third pass-rushing threat, joining Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil.

The Ravens' organizational focus is on next month's draft, but they are still trying to plug some holes with some veteran free agents.

Despite the losses of Haloti Ngata and Pernell McPhee and the ongoing questions about the secondary, Ravens coach John Harbaugh didn't sound all too worried about the state of his team's defense.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh met with reporters for about an hour on the second day of the NFL owners meetings at the Arizona Biltmore hotel. Here are a couple of tidbits.

As several key Ravens get older and more become free agents, 2015 might be the best chance to get back to the Super Bowl.

Free agency has quieted down significantly, but the Ravens aren't going to rely entirely on the draft to fill their needs.

The fact that the Ravens have sustained so many free-agent losses shouldn't be a big surprise, but their failure to add a wide receiver or a cornerback to this point is highly unexpected.

As many free agents selected a new home or agreed to stay at their old one, the Ravens didn't resolve any of their key questions over the weekend.

The Ravens' offseason roster boasts several options to return kicks, all of whom present their own question marks about whether each is the man to replace Jacoby Jones.