Ravens WR Zay Flowers Blasts NY Giants HC John Harbaugh’s Practice Style

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Ravens WR Zay Flowers Blasts NY Giants HC John Harbaugh’s Practice Style

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Patricia Traina | Last updated Apr 17, 2026 2:00 PM ET

Baltimore Ravens receiver Zay Flowers didn’t hold back when given the opportunity to blast former head coach John Harbaugh, now the New York Giants head coach, for his physical approach to practices, which resulted in injury issues in Baltimore.

“Full pads all the time. However many practices in pads you can get, every single one. We’re doing 1-on-1s Week 17…Low-key, that’s why we had a lot of injuries. Because of how we practiced,” Flowers said during an appearance on the 4th and South podcast with ex-NFL stars Jarvis Landry and Leonard Fournette.

We suppose Flowers, whose only known injury last year was a Grade 2 LCL sprain suffered in a Week 18 game against the Browns, but who didn’t miss any time during the season due to injuries, should be thankful then that he wasn’t a part of the Giants, who hired Harbaugh as their new head coach.

The Giants, according to SIS, had a combined 278 man games missed, seventh most in the league. The Ravens, meanwhile, had just 183, the 12th fewest in the league.

Former Giants head coach Brian Daboll was known to run an easier training camp that avoided tackling, and he would back down from padded practices if the team was too banged up, in his estimation. Daboll’s goal was to ensure he had as many healthy players as possible for games.

Not that it did the Giants any good. New York only won four games last season, two of which one might argue were throwaway games. The year prior, they had only won three games.

According to the CBA, Article 24, Section 1, teams may hold a total of 14 padded practices during the regular season, 11 of which must be held in the first 11 weeks of the season, with clubs also being allowed to hold two padded practices during the same week, so long as it falls within that 11-week period.

Teams that don’t use their allotment of padded practices in the designated time frame lose it.

Postseason participants are allowed only one padded practice per week for as long as they are in the tournament.

The CBA (Article 24, Section 1(c) further clarifies that a padded practice “shall be defined as a practice in which players are required to wear helmets and shoulder pads, in addition to any other equipment required by the Club.

The Giants players are already anticipating an uptick in practice intensity. Outside linebacker Brian Burns told the Locked On Giants podcast that he’s expecting a very physical training camp under Harbaugh.

“It is a thin line, but I think we’re gonna, we’re gonna teeter-totter over that line a lot, this training camp,” Burns said.

“I think it’s gonna be really, really, really physical. So it’ll be, it’ll be the sight to see for y’all.”

This article first appeared on New York Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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