Ravens players address noteworthy locker room decision amid losing streak

A recent story revealed that the Baltimore Ravens' coaching staff recently removed recreational games from the locker room "to strip away distractions and have the team fully locked in" amid its stunning 1-5 start to the season. 

As The Athletic's Jayna Bardahl noted, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh insisted on Wednesday that "veteran players" on the roster "decided they wanted to take that stuff out" of the locker room this fall. Other members of the Ravens seemed to support that decision as the club prepares to face the Chicago Bears (4-2) at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium this coming Sunday.

Kyle Hamilton "all for" Ravens' locker-room call

"It wasn’t my decision," Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said on Wednesday. "I didn’t even realize they were gone, to be honest. I guess it’s kind of a big thing now, but I wasn’t really into the whole thing going on. I don’t think it is that big of a deal whether it was players, coaches, in the locker room, out of the locker room. I don’t know if that’s really affecting us on the field too much, but if we felt like we needed to do that as a team, then I’m all for it."

In early September, sportsbooks had the Ravens and Buffalo Bills as the co-favorites to win Super Bowl LX in February 2026. However, ESPN stats show Baltimore came off its Week 7 bye surrendering a league-worst 32.3 points per game on the season. Additionally, quarterback Lamar Jackson missed the Ravens' last two contests due to a hamstring injury. He practiced for the first time since suffering that setback on Wednesday. 

Ravens open to whatever can "turn this thing around" this fall

As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had the Ravens as 6.5-point favorites over the Bears. Such a line suggests NFL insiders believe Baltimore should end its four-game losing streak this weekend. 

Considering the club's record, it's understandable Ravens players have other things on their minds than whether or not they can play some video games in the locker room. 

"It’s just noise," Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy said about games no longer being in the Baltimore locker room. "You respect who you respect when they are talking, but for the most part, you want to keep everything internal. We feel like with the leadership we have, we’re going to continue to do that and hopefully turn this thing around and play how our standard has been for the last two seasons — and play how we know we’re capable of playing."

If Baltimore loses to Chicago, whispers claiming the Ravens could become sellers ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline will only grow louder. Van Noy and Co. seem to understand that the Ravens are facing must-win situations each time they take the field for the foreseeable future. 

"I don't think morale is super low," Hamilton added, per Clifton Brown and Ryan Mink of the Ravens' website. "I don't think there's been a drop in practice, drop in talk around the building. We still feel like we're talented enough to make the playoffs and make some magic when we do. It's not going to be anarchy around here. This is the time you have to stick together. We need to get this thing turned around because it is inexcusable."