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Reserve guard John Urschel returned to practice Wednesday after missing nearly two weeks with a concussion, while rookie tight end Maxx Williams was back after leaving Monday¿s practice and missing Tuesday.

Highlights and observations from the Baltimore Ravens' last open practice of training camp.

Ravens safety Terrence Brooks, who was on the physically unable to perform list following last year¿s season-ending knee injury, returned to practice Tuesday as the Ravens held their final open training camp practice in Owings Mills.

After Sunday's off day, the Ravens were in full pads for Monday's workout, which started at 10 a.m. and finished up at 12:45 p.m. It was one of the hottest days of camp and several Ravens struggled to deal with the heat. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh had the players take an extended water break a little more than halfway through practice.

While Breshad Perriman remains sidelined from practice, the Ravens did get back fellow receivers Marlon Brown and Kamar Aiken.

Ravens defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan returned to practice Saturday after missing several days with a foot injury, while cornerback Asa Jackson, wide receiver Kamar Aiken, and outside linebacker Steven Means were out with apparent injuries suffered in Thursday¿s preseason opener.

A pair of quick three-and-outs meant the Ravens starting defense watched the final three quarters of Thursday's last-second 30-27 win over the New Orleans Saints as satisfied but interested spectators when their backups took over. They watched the reserves concede five scoring drives in seven tries, not counting the Saints' Hail Mary attempt at the final whistle, and saw a unit that lacked experience struggle to meet the Ravens' lofty standard.

Ravens cornerback Kyle Arrington started Thursday's preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at cornerback, then shifted to safety with the second team.

Joe Flacco and the starting offense engineered a 16-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on their first and only possession. The starting defense forced the New Orleans Saints to go three-and-out. And the Ravens seemingly emerged from the game without any significant injuries to frontline players.

For all the angst about Matt Schaub's play in training camp, he wouldn't be in Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec's top five of players/issues to be concerned about if he was a Ravens official.

With their wide receivers and defensive backs mostly healed, the Ravens' latest depth issue appears to be on the defensive line, where defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan, defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi, and defensive end DeAngelo Tyson missed practice Tuesday.

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.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a mixed day as camp resumed Monday.

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

Many of the Ravens veterans, along with several players who continue to nurse injuries, are not practicing today.

Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb acknowledged he's had a couple of "down years." He agreed with the rationale of quarterbacks who would choose to challenge him instead of teammate Jimmy Smith. He made no excuses for initially failing the Ravens' conditioning test last week after an offseason during which he was not a regular participant at voluntary team activities.

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

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a strong start to Wednesday's training camp practice.

The Ravens emerging young defensive stars showed well on Sunday as many veterans sat out.

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.

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.

Ravens rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman, who banged his knee coming to the ground on a jump-ball late in Thursday's first training camp practice, was absent from the second day of training camp Friday in Owings Mills.

There should no longer be any major concern about Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs being ready to play in the season opener against the Denver Broncos.

As the Ravens start their camp, they do so with a desire to build a smoother path through the playoffs by winning a division title to earn at least one home playoff game. Their bigger goal is earning home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with the top record in the AFC.

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

Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb, whose absence last training camp due to a back issue led to a slow start to his season, was one of two absences as the Ravens began training camp in Owings Mills on Thursday.

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.

Mike Preston commentary. Upon further review, the Ravens might end up being the best team in the AFC.

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.

The New England Patriots have signed veteran cornerback Tarell Brown to a one-year contract, according to a league source.

The Ravens have a tough schedule. So does everybody else in their division.

With just a couple of weeks remaining until training camp begins, let's review the top 10 news stories associated with the team this offseason.

The Ravens upgraded a secondary that ranked 23rd in the NFL last season by signing a few free agents. But the most important change might be the health of Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith.

The Ravens managed to lower veteran punter Sam Koch's salary-cap figure by $700,000 when they signed him to a five-year, $16.25 million contract extension, according to NFL Players Association records and league sources.

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.

The Ravens had just 11 interceptions last year, an unacceptable number for a defense that prides itself on taking the ball away.

The Ravens have displayed interest in veteran cornerback Tarell Brown with no deal imminent, according to a league source.

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.

After watching the first of a three-day Ravens minicamp at The Castle on Tuesday afternoon, there were a few things that raised some eyebrows.

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

The 2015 Ravens will be together as a full team for the first time this week with workouts scheduled from Tuesday through Thursday at the Under Armour Performance Center. Players will practice for the final time before the start of training camp in July.

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.

The Ravens' starting offensive line, plus defensive standouts Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, Lardarius Webb, and Chris Canty were all absent from the open portion of the Ravens' third day of OTAs Monday.

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

The Ravens are $7.331 million under the NFL salary-cap limit of $143.28 million.