Ravens rookie minicamp takeaways: Edge rusher Mike Green focused on moving forward

New York Times

05-05-2025

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Rookie outside linebacker Mike Green called it a 'blessing in disguise' that he ended up with the Baltimore Ravens, an organization with a rich defensive tradition. What he didn't do was elaborate on the reason he was available to the Ravens in the second round at No. 59 when he was a projected top-20 pick.
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Sunday, after the first day of Baltimore's rookie minicamp and in his first interview with reporters since his NFL Draft slide, Green said he is 'moving forward' and declined to specifically address two past sexual assault allegations.
'Every team asked me, and I've been completely open about everything, and it is something that I had to go through, and I got through it,' Green said. 'Like I said, at this point forward, I'm just focused on moving on with my career (with) the Ravens.'
Asked specifically about the allegations, one stemming from when he was in high school and the other while he was at the University of Virginia, Green said: 'Like I said, I'm just focused, right now, on moving forward with my career (with) the Ravens. I'm blessed to be here. It's an honor, and like I said, I'm glad to see what the future might hold for me.'
.@Mikegreen42021 is really like that ❗️ pic.twitter.com/dJlzMO2FAO
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 4, 2025
Green, who led the FBS last year with 17 sacks to go along with 23 tackles for loss while starring for Marshall, was widely considered one of the top pass rushers in the draft. However, he was taken off some teams' draft boards and, per NFL Network, some found his explanation of the allegations 'unsatisfactory.'
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said the organization investigated the incidents 'thoroughly' and the team was comfortable with the player and person. Green came to Baltimore on a pre-draft visit last month, and DeCosta and other team officials spent a significant amount of time with him.
'I really just wanted to get picked up,' Green said. 'I didn't care if that was the first pick of the draft or if that was 'Mr. Irrelevant.' When I met with Eric DeCosta, he told me when I came on my visit, if I see a '410' number, that's him. So, we laughed it off or whatever, and it's crazy because everything just came full circle. I'm sitting down on the couch, and I see that '410' number, and I knew it was him. It meant a lot. Me and my family got to celebrate that, and it was great.'
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Green was so emotional when DeCosta contacted him that the Ravens GM wondered if the call had gotten disconnected.
'It's tough. Just knowing that you have first-round potential, and just knowing that, regardless (of) what team you were going to go to, that you just wanted a chance to get out of the first round, and that was a goal that I set for myself,' Green said. 'I didn't really get to that goal, but coming to the Ravens was a blessing in disguise, and I live by that, and I mean that. I honestly can say I don't think there's a better program or franchise that I can be a part of than the Ravens. So, I'm blessed to be here. It's an honor, and I'm ready to get to work.'
The Ravens' decision-makers have been consistent in recent months in saying they'd follow the lead of the NFL's investigation before deciding on the future of kicker Justin Tucker, who has been accused by 16 Baltimore-area massage therapists of inappropriate sexual conduct as part of an investigation by The Baltimore Banner.
Could the fact that the Ravens now have Tucker's potential heir apparent in rookie sixth-round pick Tyler Loop accelerate Baltimore's decision? Ravens coach John Harbaugh acknowledged Sunday that 'football' factors could/will come into play.
'As you know, Justin has been in the building the last couple of weeks, kicking and everything. We've had a chance to talk a little bit. He's been working hard,' Harbaugh said. 'I would just say (that) from a standpoint of the investigation and all of that, we don't know anything. We haven't been given any information, as it should be. It's all done the way it's done. We don't know anything along those lines. You can't make any decisions based on that. Every decision we make has to be based on football.'
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Harbaugh acknowledged that the decision will have 'a lot of layers' to it.
'You have a rookie kicker in here. You took him early in the sixth round. He's a talented guy,' Harbaugh said, after praising Loop's work in Sunday's practice. 'From a football standpoint, salary cap, all of the different things that you just take into consideration, whatever we decide to do over the next few weeks will be based on football.'
The Ravens' organized team activities will start the week of May 26. If Tucker is still on the roster, it would represent the beginning of the competition between Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, and Loop, the first kicker drafted in Ravens history.
If the Ravens move on from Tucker, it would likely be a post-June 1 release, which would create just over $4 million of salary-cap space.
As the other Baltimore offensive linemen went through a workout, Emery Jones Jr., the rookie third-round tackle, stood behind them observing and listening. He'll likely be in that mode for a while.
Harbaugh said after Sunday's workout that Jones is dealing with a labrum issue in his shoulder that could sideline him until the start of training camp.
'It's going to be a little while,' Harbaugh said. 'I don't think that's going to clear up now. We'll probably be looking at training camp, maybe earlier. We'll just have to see how it goes. He's not going to practice in the immediate future.'
Harbaugh made it sound like the Ravens were aware of Jones' shoulder injury when they drafted him. He said Baltimore wouldn't 'push it' with Jones until he's 'totally ready' to play. Jones will likely miss the three weeks of organized team activities and the three-day mandatory minicamp in mid-June.
These are valuable reps for a rookie. Yet, as long as he's ready for training camp, Jones should have plenty of time to get up to speed in time for the start of the regular season. However, missing time will likely quiet some of the outside talk that the former LSU standout is a candidate to start in Week 1.
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Jones is a natural tackle, a position at which the Ravens have established starters in Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten. DeCosta and Harbaugh said they plan on beginning with Jones at tackle but didn't rule out moving him inside. The Ravens agreed to terms with veteran offensive tackle Joseph Noteboom over the weekend, so they can afford to be patient with Jones.
• Nebraska nose tackle Nash Hutmacher, the former undefeated prep wrestler, was not announced as part of Baltimore's 17-man undrafted rookie class. But he is taking part in the team's rookie minicamp. The Ravens have roughly 30 tryout guys participating in the minicamp, a group that includes quarterbacks Brayden Schager (Hawaii) and Collin Schlee (Virginia Tech).
• Wide receiver Dayton Wade, who spent last season on the Ravens' practice squad, was the star of Sunday's practice, making several big plays.
• Harbaugh said Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers, who missed Baltimore's two playoff games in January with a knee injury, rehabbed in the offseason and did not have surgery.
• Harbaugh said he has spoken with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders about joint practices, but the team is awaiting the release of the preseason schedule before finalizing plans.