Let no one ever say Baltimore Ravens back up quarterback Ryan Mallett is not woke. Yes, Mallett, the former third round flameout for the New England Patriots and wasted trade of the Houston Texans is doing everything in his power currently to ensure his current team, the Ravens, adds free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick to its roster.
What’s Mallett doing to advocate for his brother in passing arm? Why, just being Ryan Mallett, of course.
Consider this report from ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
“(Mallett) looked awful in for Joe Flacco with the first team on Friday,” Hensley wrote. “He was intercepted at least five times and was nearly picked off two more times. On his last interception, Mallett threw his white towel in the air. His struggles were noticed by linebacker Terrell Suggs. ‘Hey Marty (Mornhinweg, Ravens offensive coordinator), tell Mallett to throw to the guys wearing the purple jerseys (on offense),’ Suggs said.
1. He's not Ryan Mallett pic.twitter.com/xU6X9TsWmp
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) July 27, 2017
Mallett was in for Flacco as the starting quarterback could miss three to six weeks with disc issues in his back. Throwing picks is nothing new for Mallett. In fact, in what little action he’s had on an NFL football field, he’s tossed 10 picks to just seven touchdowns. Considering that Mallett has played in 19 total games and started eight, you might say that’s pretty pathetic. You would be correct.
I actually argued, back when I thought I was finished writing about Kaepernick, that the Ravens would be an ideal situation for him. And unlike Sports Illustrated’s Andy Benoit, I did not believe Ryan Mallett was better than Kaepernick. I don’t know what NFL he’s been watching.
Overheard: "Ryan Mallett was waiting, like he was trying to get a pension" — linebacker Terrell Suggs, who… https://t.co/VFT3riTmQc
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) July 29, 2017
Of the 15 back ups Benoit said were better than Kaepernick, I’d agree with 10 of them. Of the other five, I’d go about even with A.J. McCarron, Geno Smith and Matt Barkley. Kaepernick is significantly better than Landry Jones and, of course, Captain Picksalot, Ryan Mallett.
Is it going to happen? Is Kaepernick going to make his Ravens debut soon? Not according to some Ravens fans who have expressed their displeasure in the idea of Kaepernick joining the team. Is it too bold to say that none of these “fans” actually live in the city of Baltimore?
The Ravens have heard from numerous fans regarding Kaepernick in the last couple of days, many staunchly opposed to his signing…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) July 28, 2017
John Harbaugh has already dismissed the idea that Kaepernick’s absence from an NFL roster has nothing to do with his kneeldown protest of the U.S. Anthem last season or his advocacy for Black Lives Matter. Hell, Ozzie Newsome is the Ravens general manager. This makes too much sense not to happen.
“He (Kaepernick) is a really good football player,” Harbaugh said Thursday. “I believe he’s a really good person. It all depends on a lot of things. It depends on Colin first of all and what’s his passion, what’s his priority, what’s he want to do, what kind of shape he’s in. So we’ll just see where it goes. I don’t think it’s different for us than any other team.”
All the controversy, Flacco’s injury and so, so, so many interceptions did prompt the Ravens to sign a quarterback. Baltimore brought in former Arenal League quarterback David Olson. Olson is a glorified camp arm and has no chance at all to make the final roster barring a meteor strike or apocalyptic sinkhole opening up under the practice field.
Time for the Ryan Mallett truthers to crawl back out
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) July 27, 2017
On top of all the great Flacco news, the Ravens also got word toward the end of the week that offensive lineman John Urschel was retiring and going to pursue his Ph.D. in Mathematics. Urschel was a key back up for the Ravens and started 13 games over the last three seasons. He was a fifth round pick in 2014 out of Penn State.
“This morning John Urschel informed me of his decision to retire from football,” Harbaugh said Thursday. “We respect John and respect his decision. We appreciate his efforts over the past three years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
— John Urschel (@JohnCUrschel) July 27, 2017
Conley and Thomas finally sign their rookie deals
The Oakland Raiders and first round pick Gareon Conley finally got his contract straightened out and will get the rookie cornerback into camp. The Raiders picked Conley at No. 24 and he was one of the last remaining first round picks unsigned before Friday.
San Francisco 49ers rookie Solomon Thomas only missed one day of practice himself, signing his first round deal Friday as well. The 49ers picked Thomas at No. 3 in April’s NFL Draft after swapping the No. 2 pick to the Chicago Bears, who took quarterback Mitchell Trubisky out of North Carolina.
49ers signed first-round pick Solomon Thomas.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 28, 2017
Last year at Stanford, Thomas recorded 61 tackles, 14 for a loss, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and 8.5 sacks. Conley, at Ohio State, had 26 tackles, eight passes defended and four interceptions.
While the Raiders officially added Conley to their roster, they subtracted right tackle Austin Howard. Howard had been with the Raiders since 2014 when the team signed him as a free agent from the New York Jets. He struggled with injuries over the last two seasons and played in 24 of 32 regular season games.
Other NFL News
The Los Angeles Rams signed former Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive End Caushaud Lyons to a free agent contract Friday. Lyons has never taken a snap in the NFL, but floated around a couple of teams since being picked up as an undrafted free agent out of NCAA Division II Tusculum College. In his senior year with the Pioneers (I actually cover Tusculum a few times each season), Lyons had 89 tackles, 19 for a loss, nine sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two passes defended.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver John Brown is expected to miss a couple of days of training camp due to a quadriceps injury. Wideout Aaron Dobson is having some hamstring issues and could miss a week. Last season Brown started six games for the Cardinals and played in 15. He caught 39 passes for 517 yards and two touchdowns. Dobson spent time off and on with the Detroit Lions last season but never caught a pass.
Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali will begin training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
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