Getty Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins attended but did not take part in mandatory minicamp.
The Baltimore Ravens’ projected starting running back reported and was both in and around the building for the mandatory portion of the offseason program after skipping all of the voluntary organized team activities but didn’t take the field once.
On Thursday, June 15, 2023, head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that he expected Dobbins to be out at practice and participating and was alluded that he was a bit surprised that it didn’t happen.
“It just wasn’t in the cards apparently,” he said. “[He will] just get ready for training camp.”
On Wednesday, Monken told the media that “he’s obviously not ready to go” after he missed a second straight day of practice but didn’t reveal whether Dobbins was dealing with an injury-related setback.
He was limited to just eight regular season games in 2022 in his first year back after missing the entire 2021 season with a severe multi-ligament knee injury but was playing and looking his best down the stretch once he underwent a midseason knee scope to clean up some scar tissue.
Dobbins still managed to finish with 520 rushing yards and averaged 5.7 yards per carry which would’ve tied him for the fifth-best in the entire league had he played enough to qualify according to Pro Football Reference. He was ripping off 6.5 yards a carry in his last five games post-procedure and the team is excited about his potential in Monken’s offense.
“It’s going to be interesting [to see] how he fits in, because J.K. has got a lot of dynamic ability – backfield, motion, wide plays, inside plays, even the A-gap plays that we’ve always run,” Harbaugh said. “As a receiver out of the backfield, I think he’s got a lot of potential. So, I’m very excited about J.K. and how he’s going to fit in here.”
J.K. Dobbins Hints Absence Was Contract Related
In a sit-down interview with local news station WJZ-CBS Baltimore that aired Thursday, June 15, 2023, the former second-rounder heading into the final year of his rookie deal indicated that his absence from the practice field but not team facility was potentially related to his desire for a new contract.
“The thing I can say is, I would love to be a Baltimore Raven for the rest of my career,” Dobbins said after being asked where he stood with the organization. “Because I love the city, I love the people. It feels like family here. Like, it feels like home here, my second home. And I hope that happens. I hope that happens.”
It seems like he was executing the act of holding in is a fairly new but common business practice that many players around the league use who are under contract but seeking new deals from their current teams. In that same interview, Dobbins acknowledged that the “business side” of the game when it comes to negotiations between players and front offices is “very hard”.
“It’s very different but it’s part of it,” he said. “It’s part of the dream and it’s something that I’m blessed with, to deal with the business side of that. You saw with Lamar (Jackson), it’s never just roses and daisies. It can be hard at times. It’s business, though.”
J.K. Dobbins Is Facing a Steep & Risky Uphill Battle
The Ravens went through quite a long and drawn-out negotiating process with their franchise quarterback before making him the highest-paid player in league history on April 27, 2023. However, Jackson plays the most valuable position in all of sport and is a two-time Pro Bowler, First-Team All-Pro selection, and a former unanimous league MVP.
As talented as Dobbins is and despite the incredible flashes he showed as a rookie and at times last year, his injury history coupled with the increased devaluation of his position league-wide leaves him with essentially no leverage outside of withholding his services.
While holding in is tolerated during the offseason program and during training camp by many teams, missing games and checks at a position whose shelflife is the shortest out of them all will hurt the player much more than the team.
Former Raven and long-time Pittsburgh Steelers‘ running back Le’Veon Bell is the ultimate cautionary tale when it comes to a gifted player at the position that tried to take a stand only to have it backfire miserably.
The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro selection didn’t want to play for the Steelers on the franchise tag for a second straight year and opted to sit out the entire 2018 season. Not only did he waste a year of his prime but he never recaptured his previous elite form or production and was released less than a year and a half into a sizeable contract he signed with the New York Jets in the 2019 offseason.
Ravens Are Still Well-Stocked at Running Back Position
While Monken admitted the offense is “certainly better” with Dobbins in the lineup, they still have other quality contingencies at running back that they are familiar with and have confidence in.
Sixth-year veteran Gus ‘The Bus’ Edwards has 17 career starts under his belt and averages 5.2 yards per carry in his career per PFR. He has been the physical tone-setter for the Ravens when healthy throughout his career and like Dobbins, missed the entire 2021 season with a knee injury and struggled to stay healthy in 2022. While he was a limited participant in minicamp, Edwards is expected to be “fully ready for training camp per Harbaugh.
Fifth-year veteran Justice Hill spent most of the offseason program running with the first-team offense and is coming off a career year where he averaged a career-high 5.3 yards per carry per PFR. He also missed the entire 2021 season with an injury but bounced back better than ever and could be in line to be more than just a special teams ace moving forward as the only player proven at the position under contract past the 2023 season.
Undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell was one of the most explosive playmakers in all of college football in 2022. He led the Eastern Carolina University Pirates with over 1400 rushing yards and tied for fourth in the nation with an average of 7.2 yards per carry per Sports Reference.
There is also still a wealth of proven, experienced, and more durable veteran running backs currently sitting on the open market unsigned. The impressive list includes former first-rounder and Super Bowl champion Leonard Fournette, Pro Bowler and 2017 league rushing champion Kareem Hunt, three-time Pro Bowler and two-time league rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott, and most recently four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook.
