Veteran safety Williams sees room to grow
Ballhawk taking on more vocal role in new secondary
In six seasons as an NFL free safety, Marcus Williams has led his defense in interceptions or been tied for the team lead four times. That includes last fall, when he paced the Ravens with four despite being limited to 10 games by a dislocated wrist. The secret to his success?
“You’ve got to be a ballhawk, I guess, and that’s what I am,” the 26-year-old said Thursday afternoon after the team’s second practice of training camp at its headquarters in Owings Mills. “I watch a lot of film, I come out here, I practice hard so that it translates to the game days.”
Williams also led the 2019 New Orleans Saints in interceptions with four and was tied for the team lead in 2018 (two) and 2020 (three). Despite that success, the 2017 second-round draft pick has not been rewarded with a Pro Bowl invite or an All-Pro honor, which might explain why he isn’t content to rest on his laurels just yet.
“There’s always more for me,” he said. “There’s always that next step that I can take. I’m not finished being the best person I can be. I haven’t peaked. I’m still working, I’m still young, I’m still trying to be better than every single person that steps on that field.”
That passion is welcomed as Williams and cornerback Marlon Humphrey headline a revamped secondary. Gone are cornerback Marcus Peters (Las Vegas Raiders) and strong safety Chuck Clark (New York Jets), withRock Ya-Sin and Kyle Hamilton, respectively, replacing them.
This season will mark Williams’ second since signing a five-year, $70 million contract in March 2022 to leave New Orleans. Coach John Harbaugh said Williams’ familiarity with defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s schemes should be an asset for him and his teammates.
“It’s got to be,” Harbaugh said. “Here’s a guy that has a year in the system, and it’s the same system from last year. He’s definitely taken over in terms of communication. Chuck was doing that last year, Chuck kind of had that role. So he’s done great with it. He’s playing great, he’s confident, he’s talking out there, he’s running around. It’s fun to watch.”
While middle linebacker Roquan Smith will wear the green dot communication helmet and relay defensive signals, Humphrey, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, said he has noticed Williams taking on a more vocal role.
“Marcus is coaching me, yelling at me,” he said. “He’s coaching Kyle, he’s coaching Rock [Ya-Sin]. I’m better when I’m told what to do, told what to see, work off my guy. That’s just how I’ve been since [former safety] Eric Weddle was here, since [former safety] Earl [Thomas] was here, since all of my safeties have been here. I want the safety to put me in the right position and go like that. … I think Marcus Williams has really taken a big step with that as far as coaching guys, holding guys accountable. That’s been a big difference this year.”
Williams downplayed the notion that he has become more assertive on the field.
“I’ve always been a communicator,” he said. “It’s not new to me. I’ve always done it — even last year when I was here. So it’s
really nothing new. I continue to do what I’ve got to do to make sure our team is in the right spot.”
Williams said he’s more motivated to improve as an individual so that he can be a larger contributor to the defense’s success.
“Every day, I work to prepare my craft and do the little things by communicating and being a leader out there and just talking to my guys,” he said. “And you see we all come together, and we make plays, and that will help us all get better.”
Much of the offseason talk has centered on an offense led by quarterback Lamar Jackson, tight end Mark Andrews and wide receivers Rashod Bateman, Odell Beckham Jr. and first-round choice Zay Flowers under the supervision of new offensive coordinator Todd Monken. But Williams said he is encouraged by the defense’s potential to match or even exceed the offense’s accomplishments.
“We can be real good,” he said. “It’s up to us though. We have to put in the time, we’ve got to put in the work, and it starts right here. It starts right now in training camp.”
Adapting to the heat
Thursday’s high of 97 degrees with a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. of a heat index around 105 degrees for the Baltimore metropolitan area forced the Ravens to take some measures.
The most noticeable was an extended water break midway through practice with players consuming water and sports drinks
to stay hydrated. Harbaugh also noted that there was a little more time built into the periods between drills.
“You have to be very vigilant,” he said. “I think our staff does a great job. The training staff, the strength and conditioning staff, everybody’s doing a great job of making sure that we get the hydration. We monitor every single player. If we’ve got a player here or there to take some time off, we pull them back. We took a little more time between drills today. We got a period right before the field goals where we took an extended water break. Just tried to cool them down with the helmets off, but it’s good.”
For the second consecutive day, members of the offensive line warmed up inside the team’s indoor facility before joining the rest of their teammates outside about 30 minutes after Thursday’s session had begun. Harbaugh said that was planned.
“We thought about it in the last couple days because of the heat,” he said. “So they’re doing their pre-practicing and individuals indoors. So they do that in there and it kind of keeps them out of the heat for another half hour to 40 minutes, which is a positive. So it’s been good, and they appreciate it.”
Rookie first-round selection Zay Flowers joked that the weather reminded him of his hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “I had to use a cold towel today,” he said.
Friday is forecast to be even hotter. An excessive heat warning of a heat index around 110 degrees has already been issued for the time between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Practice is scheduled to start at 1:50 p.m. and
could run two hours.
“It’s not often that you play in this kind of heat in the NFL,” Harbaugh acknowledged. “Maybe in early September, you might get a day that’s hot. So there’s really no reason to push it beyond the edge. But there is an aspect of it with acclimation that is positive, and I thought our guys did a good job.”
End zone
The Ravens practiced Thursday with almost their full complement of healthy players. Wide receiver Makai Polk, a practice squad member in 2022 who was claimed Tuesday by the organization, ditched the street clothes he wore Wednesday for his No. 83 jersey. Rookie cornerback Jordan Swann was absent. He left Wednesday’s session after about 30 minutes, walking back to the locker room with a trainer.
Harbaugh credited Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti with asking the team’s equipment staff to outline the numbers on the quarterbacks’ jerseys with what appears to be a gold trim to make it easier for others — such as the media — to decipher who is under center. Harbaugh quipped that such a measure did not occur to him. “If none of these guys had a number out here and I was watching the tape, I could tell who everybody is,” he said. “I don’t know what it is. I think any coach would tell you that. You know your people. You know how they move, you know what they look like. But if you don’t do it every day, you need the numbers. So you’re welcome.”