CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM
Ravens wide receiver Breshad Perriman sold cornerback Sheldon Price on an out route toward the sideline before he cut up field. Quarterback Joe Flacco didn’t let the ball go immediately, giving Price time to close the gap. When Flacco’s pass finally arrived in the back of the end zone, Perriman contorted his body to make the catch over Price and then tapped his feet inbounds as a referee signaled a touchdown.
Team officials and fans have envisioned Perriman making these types of acrobatic catches since the Ravens selected him in the first round of the 2015 draft. The best sign of the third-year wide receiver’s progress from Thursday’s organized team activities, though, came moments later when Perriman, guarded closely along the sideline by cornerback Jimmy Smith, turned at the exact moment the ball was on him and made a back-shoulder catch of a Flacco pass.
The catch earned him a congratulatory pat from Smith and was the latest example of Perriman’s improving rapport with Flacco after the two weren’t often on the same page last season.
“You look at Breshad out here and nobody, I think, is having a better camp than him so far,” Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta said after Thursday’s workout. “He’s making big plays everywhere, catching everything thrown his way.”
OTAs certainly can be a tease. There’s no contact allowed in the not-padded practices, and most of the players are on the field in jerseys and shorts. For Perriman, though, any positive reinforcement for the work he has put in is appreciated. It also is nice to be talking about making plays rather than being injured.
“I feel great, and I’m just really going out there and having fun,” Perriman said.
Perriman’s two-plus years with the Ravens rarely have been fun. While this