OT Stanley, WR Matthews suffer soft-tissue injuries
Coaches trying rookies in new spots; Campanaro sits out fourth practice
The Ravens got a scare Saturday night when rookie first-round draft pick Ronnie Stanley, the projected starting left tackle, left midway through practice with what coach John Harbaugh described as a soft-tissue injury.
Harbaugh and Stanley declined to disclose the nature of the injury, but both seemed confident the sixth overall pick won’t miss a significant amount of time. Stanley said he’s optimistic he’ll play in the preseason opener Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers.
“I’m perfectly fine,” Stanley said. “I’m not concerned. Minor setback. It’s nothing major.”
Stanley was replaced at left tackle by fellow rookie Alex Lewis, a fourth-round pick. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Lewis has been splitting time between guard and tackle, as he did in college at Nebraska.
“It was good,” Lewis said. “It’s fun being out there with the [first team]; you get to judge yourself.”
Lewis was called for holding once on a play-action pass but otherwise handled it well, according to Harbaugh.
Wide receiver Chris Matthews also left practice with a soft-tissue injury, Harbaugh said. His injury appears more significant than Stanley’s. Coaches experimenting with rookies: Second-round pick Kamalei Correa is listed as the backup to Zachary Orr at weak-side linebacker on the first depth chart released by the team, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Ravens have abandoned plans to use him as an edge rusher. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees said the team is still searching for the rookie’s best spot.
Pees said the team is experimenting with Correa, out of Boise State, and other defensive players, hoping it will increase the unit’s flexibility when injuries hit during the season. “This is the time to do it,” Pees said. Offensive line coach Juan Castillo is taking the same approach with Lewis, one of his rookies, who is getting repetitions at tackle and guard.
“I will tell you this: Alex Lewis is going to be a starter in the NFL,” Castillo said Thursday. “I think he can start at guard one day or he can even start at tackle.” A different Wagner: Castillo has seen a difference in Rick Wagner this summer, a result of the starting right tackle’s being able to adequately prepare for the season. That wasn’t the case last year, when Wagner was coming off surgery to repair a Lisfranc foot sprain.
Wagner returned in time to be ready for training camp. However, like cornerback Jimmy Smith, who had the same injury, Wagner wasn’t the same player he had been the previous season, when he graded out as one of the NFL’s top right tackles.
The former Wisconsin player returned in time for training camp and started all 16 games at right tackle. He didn’t make excuses but was inconsistent all season. Campanaro misses practice: Wide receiver and punt returner Michael Campanaro (River Hill) did not take part in Saturday’s open workout at M&T Bank Stadium. It marked the second time in three days Campanaro sat out practice and the fourth time he has missed practice since training camp began.
Campanaro has looked good when he has been out there, and there has been no mention of an injury by Campanaro or Harbaugh. The former Wake Forest star has missed significant time with injuries in each of his first two seasons in Baltimore, and was put on injured reserve with a back injury last year after four games.
If Campanaro is having physical problems, it could give more of an opportunity to former Navy star Keenan Reynolds, who appears to be competing with Campanaro for a roster spot and has been inconsistent so far. Though Campanaro is clearly ahead of Reynolds, who is trying to make the transition from quarterback to wide receiver and punt returner, there still seem to be concerns about keeping Campanaro healthy. Dixon returns: Rookie running back Kenneth Dixon, who injured his knee on the first day of training camp and was back for light individual drills Friday, took part in the entire practice Saturday.
A fourth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech, where he briefly held the NCAA’s career record for rushing touchdowns before being overtaken by Reynolds, had a couple of impressive runs in practice, including a long gain on a third-down play when he burst through a couple of tackles.
“It felt great getting back out there, competing again,” Dixon said, “just getting back out there with guys, just trying to work hard and trying to do the things I need to get on the field.”
Dixon said he tried “to take as many mental reps as I can” and credited the rest of the running backs with helping him. He also knew that he needed to show the coaches that he could be part of the rotation.
“We’ve got a real close group with Justin [Forsett], Buck [Allen] and [Terrance] West up there helping me,” Dixon said. “There’s definitely a lot of competition in the room. There’s not any animosity between guys.
“Everybody is going to compete as hard as they can and put their best foot forward. It’s the nature of the game that the best guy gets the starting job. Coach [Thomas] Hammock does a great job of rotating us and [giving] us an opportunity. That’s basically all we really need is a chance.” Dixon said his knee felt a lot better. “I just wanted to get out there and try it out a little bit and push it to its limit and see what I could do,” he said.
Harbaugh was happy to see Dixon back on the practice field.
“He did look good, he looked quick and sharp and he made good cuts,” Harbaugh said. “I thought he did a pretty good job at pass protection, we’ll have to see. On that last third-down run, that was a really special run. It was good to see him out there. He has been champing at the bit. The trainers were holding him back maybe a little more than he wanted them to. It’s good to see him back.”