Johnson Begins to Silence Critics

Josh Johnson prepares for a preseason game in Baltimore

After coming under fire for his performance in Baltimore’s preseason opener on August 9, Josh Johnson has answered critics with one of his strongest weeks as a Raven.

Johnson was a perfect 11-for-11 on Saturday against the Falcons and subsequently stacked two solid days of practice to kick off the last week of training camp. On Tuesday, he completed 11 of his 12 passes against the first-team defense in the first hour of practice and finished 15 for 19 on the day in 11-on-11 work.

Johnson didn’t push the ball downfield too much; his deepest pass was under thrown to Dayton Wade, who came back to the ball and beat Jalyn Armour-Davis for the catch. But Johnson was more accurate and in rhythm than he has looked in previous weeks, getting rid of the ball on time without scrambling behind the line of scrimmage.

That’s exactly the steady play that John Harbaugh expects out of his current QB2. Tyler Huntley may have provided more excitement and upside in past years, but his spot-starts in place of Lamar Jackson were rollercoaster rides. In some ways, the lack of RB and WR talent demanded that Huntley take more risks to move the ball on offense. But, if Johnson were to see time in the regular season, his job would be simple: protect the football, and let Derrick Henry and the Ravens defense do the rest. That would be enough to get the Ravens through a handful of quarters without their MVP quarterback, but any extended absence would place a much larger burden on Johnson’s shoulders.

Of course, Baltimore is hoping that Johnson’s regular season snaps are limited to garbage time in Jackson-led blowouts. The star QB didn’t have as crisp and efficient of a practice as he did on Monday, finishing 11 for 16 in full-team work and 8 for 10 in 7-on-7’s, including a nice deep ball on a wheel route by Justice Hill. A few blitz packages sent by Zach Orr gave Jackson a little bit of trouble, forcing some quick throws to receivers when they weren’t quite on the same page.

For the most part, Jackson was efficient in the red zone on Tuesday. At one point, he hit Derrick Henry, Rashod Bateman, and Tylan Wallace for three straight touchdowns in goal-to-go situations. Jackson threw an interception to Ka’Dar Hollman covering Wallace in the end zone, prompting a conversation between quarterback and wide receiver to clear up any miscommunication. He would have been charged with another interception in 7-on-7’s if Daryl Worley had been able to make the catch.

Jackson’s legs were also on full display throughout practice, often slicing through the Ravens defense with ease. His weight loss since last season is already paying dividends, with the slimmed-down Jackson looking like the fastest player on the field when he takes off down the field. When he breaks free, he frequently runs all the way into the opposing end zone, regardless of where the play started. Jackson admitted on Monday that he has noticed a difference in his energy and fatigue since 2023.

“I’ve got a lot more energy. I’m not fatigued as much,” said Jackson. “If I’m running 30 yards down the field – I can come back and just be like me, like a robot, even though I’m not a robot.”

A number of Ravens returned from minor injuries to practice on Tuesday, including rookie wide receiver Devontez Walker. The fourth-round pick was a popular target for Baltimore’s QBs throughout OTAs and minicamp but has faded into the background in recent weeks due to a rib injury and multiple veteran additions to the wideout room. He recorded three receptions on the day, including a contested deep catch over Marcus Williams on a 50-yard pass from Devin Leary during 7-on-7’s.

Rookie Rasheen Ali also returned to the practice field, though he was not a full participant. He went through a workout on a side field with Chris Board and Josh Ross. Marlon Humphrey and Patrick Mekari were both absent, but John Harbaugh insisted both were fine after practice.