BALTIMORE — The Ravens were second in the NFL in rushing last season with 2,720 yards, but they might have a reason to be at least a little concerned about their ground game going into this one.
Starting running back J.K. Dobbins reported to the team’s mandatory three-day minicamp earlier this week, but the 2020 second-round pick did not participate in any of it. He also skipped three weeks of voluntary organized team activities before that.
Following the final practice of the offseason Thursday, which Dobbins was also absent from, the message from coach John Harbaugh was clear.
“I expected J.K. to practice,” he said. “It wasn’t in the cards apparently.”
Though Dobbins was at the team’s facility in Owings Mills on Monday and even appeared in a promotional video put out by the team, he missed the first practice on Tuesday because of an apparent minor soft-tissue injury. Then he didn’t participate in the next two practices, either.
But Dobbins addressed his absence for the first time in an interview with WJZ-TV’s Mark Viviano on Thursday afternoon, saying, “the business side is very hard.”
“The thing I can say is I would love to be a Baltimore Raven for the rest of my career. ... I hope that happens,” said Dobbins, who declined to say if he’s battling a soft-tissue injury. “It’s never just roses and daisies.”
Harbaugh said he didn’t have any injury concerns over Dobbins, however, and that he expects him back in time for training camp, which begins in late July. Dobbins told WJZ that he’s studying the playbook and that he’d be ready.
But Dobbins, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, has cast a potential shadow over his future in Baltimore.
Earlier this month, the former Ohio State standout sent out a series of cryptic tweets expressing his love for the Ravens and a desire to finish his career in Baltimore before adding “IDK tho sadly,” which he later deleted. He also hasn’t spoken to the media since the Ravens’ AFC wild-card-round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, after which he expressed his displeasure with his lack of carries in that game.
When Harbaugh was asked earlier this month about the tweets, he said he hadn’t seen them but was aware of them.
“We want him back, but who knows the future?” he said.
Dobbins’ past might provide something of an answer — but certainly not a clear one.
Despite averaging 5.9 yards per carry in his career and rushing for 1,325 yards and 11 touchdowns, he has missed 27 of 50 regular-season games because of injuries.
Dobbins tore his ACL, LCL, meniscus and hamstring in the 2021 preseason finale. After 13 months of difficult rehabilitation, he returned but then missed another six games in the middle of last season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to remove scar tissue.
When healthy, Dobbins has been a critical part of the offense.
In 2020, he rushed for 805 yards and nine touchdowns in 15 games. Last season, he had 520 yards and two touchdowns in eight games, including 397 yards on 57 carries with a touchdown over a four-game span following his return in December.
But if Dobbins is hoping for a long-term, big-money extension from the Ravens, that might be more elusive.
The market for running backs is tough, as few teams have been willing to give big money to even the most productive players. It’s why New York Giants star Saquon Barkley, for example, boycotted their three-day mandatory minicamp and why the Minnesota Vikings released Dalvin Cook.
Harbaugh, meanwhile, hoped to see Dobbins back on the field this offseason to work with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
“It’s going to be interesting how he fits in, because J.K. has a lot of dynamic ability — backfield, motion, wide plays, inside plays, as a receiver out of the backfield. I think he’s got a lot of potential,” Harbaugh said Tuesday. “I’m very excited about J.K. and how he’s going to fit in here.”
With Gus Edwards limited to drills as he continues to strengthen his knee after suffering a torn ACL in 2021 that kept him out until midway through last season, Justice Hill carried most of the workload. The 25-year-old saw a heavy dose of action running and catching the ball.
Harbaugh liked what he saw from the fourth-year back.
“All those reps helped him,” he said. “Repetition is the name of the game. You get better or you get worse. … Some of these are self-evident truths. Justice made the most of [his opportunity].”
Dobbins’ chance to do the same now has to wait until late July when the Ravens return for training camp.
What happens in terms of a new contract for Dobbins also remains to be seen, but the message from Harbaugh was again clear on where he expects his running back to be later this summer.
“I do want to see all the starters out there during training camp,” he said. “We need that. They need to be out there practicing. When they’re not, that’s something you have to overcome.”
