Ravens Not Taking Joint Practice for Granted

The Baltimore Ravens haven't played their starters in the preseason for years now, and that likely won't change in 2025 with how much is on the line in the regular season and playoffs.

That said, Baltimore still values giving its starters reps against another team, but through joint practices rather than preseason games. The Ravens have two joint practices scheduled this year, with the first of them taking place on Tuesday with the Indianapolis Colts ahead of Thursday's preseason opener.

While it's not a game, the Ravens plan on putting everything they've got into Tuesday's joint practice.

"I told the guys, 'There are two games this week. It's on Tuesday and Thursday,'" defensive coordinator Zach Orr told reporters Monday. "And I just told them, I said [that] no matter what – the thing that I remember, and the thing that I know now – where you're at in your career, you can be a perennial Pro Bowler [or] All-Pro, or you could be a guy fighting to make the roster, every single time you step onto that field, you're fighting for your career.

"You're getting evaluated, and you've got to think that way. You've got to take that approach every time you take the field."

Joint practices are very valuable for every team, but they can often boil over and lead to fights between the two teams. To help combat that, both of the Ravens' joint practices this year will be just one day instead of two like in past years.

"We used to do two days, which we kind of moved past that," head coach John Harbaugh said. "The second day is just a chippy day – a cheap shot day. (Colts head coach) Shane (Steichen) does a great job, [and the] (Washington) Commanders are the same with (head coach) Dan [Quinn]. We expect those to be good, clean practices."

While that may be a drawback, the Ravens believe the benefits of these joint practices are well worth it.

"When you go against another team, it feels like the first day," offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. "You come out the first day, [and] there's this enthusiasm, you're jacked, you're ready to go [on the] first day of camp, [it's the] 2025 Ravens. And then as you go against each other, you have your ups and downs, the ebb and flow of camp. We'll bring another team in, and here we go. It feels like the first day, it's time to compete, time to show where we're at, and I'm fired up."