Ricard relishes roles on both sides of ball
Bowser’s groin injury hurting his stock; Senat gets nod as backup LT
Having played defensive end for most of his high school and college career, Patrick Ricard has a certain fondness for the defensive side of the ball. But he said he relishes any opportunity to play — even if that means lining up as a fullback, as he has done since joining the Ravens as an undrafted rookie last year.
“It’s awesome,” he said after Thursday night’s 33-7 preseason victory over the Los Angeles Rams. “Touchdowns, sacks, all that, it’s just great. That’s just playing football, and that’s what I love to do. Any of those, I’m happy with.”
The Ravens, who signed Ricard as an undrafted free agent in 2017, have taken him up on that offer. Against the Rams, he totaled four tackles and one quarterback hurry on defense and caught one 6-yard pass for a touchdown on offense on 27 combined snaps on defense, offense and special teams. In a 17-16 preseason win against the Chicago Bears on Aug. 2 in Canton, Ohio, he played 50 combined snaps, which ranked 13th among his teammates.
Coach John Harbaugh said after reviewing film of the game against Los Angeles, he discovered that he did not give Ricard a single poor grade while assessing his performance.
Asked about Ricard’s ability to play on both sides of the ball, Harbaugh said: “I think it takes a lot. It takes an athlete, first of all. He’s a good athlete. I think some of the coaches that have seen him play are surprised that he can catch the ball the way he can. I don’t know why. If you watch the tape, he’s caught a lot of passes in the flat. We even threw him a rail route [against the Rams].” Bowser’s injury hurting candidacy: A groin injury that has been bothering Tyus Bowser since July 27 might be setting him back in the race to back up Ravens starting strong-side linebacker Matthew Judon.
Bowser sat out his third consecutive practice Sunday at the team’s headquarters in Owings Mills and has yet to play in a preseason game this month. Bowser, a second-round pick in last year’s NFL draft, compiled nine tackles, three sacks and one interception as a rookie, but Harbaugh acknowledged that Bowser’s extended absence is impacting his bid to warrant more playing time.
“Tyus has had a little groin thing,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “It doesn’t feel like he’s at100 percent right now. He needs to get back out there. Thecompetition is starting to heat up.”
Bowser was listed as the primary backup to Judon at strong-side linebacker in the team’s depth chart before Thursday night’s 33-7 preseason victory over the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. With Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith entrenched at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, at rush linebacker, Bowser is battling Tim Williams and Kamalei Correa. Senat tapped as backup left tackle: Greg Senat’s first NFL training camp got off to a rocky start. The rookie offensive tackle sat out the Ravens’ first 10 practices because of a left foot injury, but the missed time does not seem to have affected his value to the team.
When the starting offensive linemen left the field after the second series of Thursday night’s victory over the Rams, Senat lined up at left tackle. If being tasked with protecting rookie quarterback and first-round pick Lamar Jackson in the first half was daunting, Senat seemed comfortable with the assignment after being inserted into the game after only four days of practice.
“I don’t think I’m surprised,” the second of three sixth-round selections in April’s NFL draft said after Saturday’s practice. “Even when I was hurt, I was putting in a lot of work of just being in my playbook and watching a lot of film. Right now for me, it’s just all about getting reps and getting back into it and back into ball and going full speed.” Battle at right tackle: Six-time Pro Bowl selection Marshal Yanda increased his workload Sunday, lining up at his usual right-guard spot in some full-team exercises.
Yanda’s return prompted James Hurst to move from right guard to right tackle, which had been previously occupied by rookie Orlando Brown Jr. Harbaugh said Hurst has the edge over Brown to start at right tackle.
“I think it’s going to be a battle,” Harbaugh said. “James has got the inside track certainly as the incumbent or veteran guy. But Orlando gets better every day. So I think it’s going to be a really good battle and a good problem to have. That’s the kind of problem you want to have.” Extra points: Besides Bowser, rookie fullback Christopher Ezeala, rookie middle linebacker Alvin Jones, safety Bennett Jackson and tight end Maxx Williams did not practice Sunday. Wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo (upper leg muscle), linebacker BamBradley( ACL) and cornerback Jaylen Hill (right ACL, MCL) are still on the physically-unable-to-perform list. … Harbaugh said he had 50 pizzas delivered Saturday to the team’s training facility, but was unable to get one slice. “You put 50 boxes of pizza, and you’ve got close to 100 players in the locker room, and for some of the guys that weren’t in the locker room, those pizzas aren’t going to make it,” he said. “It was gone. And I got the pizza, you know? Can someone save me a slice? Didn’t happen.”