The Baltimore Ravens have been hit with training camp injuries, and quarterback Lamar Jackson is still watching his weight. But like other NFL teams, the Ravens have three players struggling early during training camp.
On the list no players want to be on are guard Ben Cleveland, linebacker Adisa Isaac, and quarterback Josh Johnson.
G Ben Cleveland fighting to regain footing
When training camp began, Cleveland appeared to be entrenched as the starter at right guard. But he fell behind new presumed starter Daniel Faalele.
However, Cleveland may have found at least a temporary way around the issue. The Ravens are giving him an extended look at the center position after an injury to Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum. Head coach John Harbaugh said Cleveland held his own at the new position, according to baltimoreravens.com.
“He has done such a good job at center, and now we have Tyler out for a while,” Harbaugh said. “I think you're going to see him at center for the next two weeks.”
Cleveland said he will do whatever the team needs.
“I see myself really fitting in wherever I'm needed,” Cleveland said. “This week, I've been playing a little bit more center than other places. I'm here to earn a spot on this team, and wherever they need me at, to do that; that's what I'm going to do. I feel perfectly fine at center. They started working me in there last year, so it's not like they just threw me into the fire this week. I'm definitely extremely comfortable there.”
How important is 2024 for Ben Cleveland?
Cleveland saw action in 37 games over his first three seasons but made only seven starts. And that’s tough. Cleveland said it’s particularly hard to come off the sideline in the middle of the third quarter and expect to perform at an NFL level. But if he doesn’t break through in year four, he may not be around much longer in the NFL.
“The stakes are definitely higher, I feel like,” Cleveland said. “But at the end of the day, it's the same thing I've been doing for the last three years – just showing up to work every day and giving it everything I've got to be the best player that I can for this team and for myself, and let the chips land wherever they may.”
One thing that has helped Cleveland is learning from Linderbaum.
“Every day after practice, he's in there watching film, (and) we're going over how I can step better, do ‘this' better and whatnot,” Cleveland said. “So it's been nice having somebody who's, obviously, as good as he is at that position to help me better myself.”
Adisa Isaac makes it to practice field
The Ravens’ third-round has languished on the non-football-injury list, but finally got a chance to practice last week. Holding him back was a hamstring injury, which certainly didn’t help his cause in fighting for a starting spot.
He’s buried on the depth chart as a third-team member. In front of him at weak-side linebacker are presumed starter Odafe Oweh and second-teamer David Ojabo. It doesn’t help Isaac’s cause that Oweh is tearing it up during training camp.
But Harbaugh said Isaac is trying to hit the ground running, according to baltimoreravens.con transcript.
“He looked good,” said Harbaugh. “(He) came inside one time, where he got pinned inside (and) was a little anxious to get in there and would've given up contained, so I'm going to talk to him about that. But seeing him out there, he chased Josh (Johnson) around the corner, you can see his speed. He looks big out there. I'm excited to have him back out there. Nobody is more excited than he is. It's hard. You come in, you're a rookie, and you're on the shelf for all of these months, that's tough. He's really excited to be back.”
Harbaugh said it’s possible Isaac could see game time soon.
“I hope he ramps up quickly,” Harbaugh said. “That's going to be the hope. I would love to get him in the game this week if we could.”
Will Josh Johnson be able to hold on as No. 2 QB?
It has been 15 years since Johnson came into the league, but he’s still finding employment — at least for now. He will have to hold off rookie sixth-round pick Devin Leary and undrafted rookie Emory Jones.
It hasn’t been easy for Johnson. On Friday against the Eagles, he completed only 4 of 12 passes for 62 yards. Harbaugh didn’t come away from the game thrilled, but he defended Johnson, according to baltimoreravens.com transcripts.
“I think if you watch all of the preseason games, you're going to see the same things,” Harbaugh said. “I thought he handled it well (and) made some really good throws. The timing and that sort of thing, yes, that's tough to evaluate, because the guys aren't all out there. It's not always going to look real great, but I thought he handled himself really well and made some really good throws. (He) protected the football like you want him to do and got us in the right plays, made some decisions on which plays to get us into, which is part of our offense. So that's kind of where it's at.”
Leary completed six of 10 passes for 37 yards. But at least he scored the Ravens' lone touchdown of the game on a QB sneak. Jones took the final offensive snap of the game but was sacked and fumbled to set up Philadelphia's game-winning field goal. Not good.
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