Raven Country

Watch: Ravens O-Line Participates in Punt Return Drill

The Baltimore Ravens closed out Monday's practice in style.

Jon Alfano

Baltimore Ravens offensive linemen Andrew Vorhees (72) and Ronnie Stanley (79) run through a drill during a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at Ray Nitschke Field in Ashwaubenon, Wis. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Baltimore Ravens offensive linemen Andrew Vorhees (72) and Ronnie Stanley (79) run through a drill during a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at Ray Nitschke Field in Ashwaubenon, Wis. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Just because the regular season is here doesn't mean that the Baltimore Ravens can't still have some fun.

To close out Monday's Labor Day practice, the Ravens had both offensive and defensive linemen take turns catching punts of the JUGS machine. Predictably, the results were quite entertaining.

"It's a lot harder than what people think, which is kind of why when you evaluate guys, it's always easy to say, 'Oh, this guy should be able to do it,' or 'This guy can do it,' because maybe his skill set is a receiver, or he's a DB that has pretty good ball skills on the offensive or defensive side of the ball, but when you go out there, and that ball is in the air, you just kind of read that nose of the football," special teams coordinator Chris Horton told reporters after practice. It's got a bit of wind in his face or behind him; that changes the trajectory of the ball, so it is a little bit more difficult than what people think."

Only two linemen actually made the fair catch: Andrew Vorhees and Patrick Mekari, with the former catching both of his chances. Vorhees, the projected starting left guard, has experience catching punts from his days at Kingsburg High School in California. One of his coaches, former Nebraska tight end Hunter Teafatiller, even gave him a lesson in how to catch punts.

"Shoutout to Hunter Teafatiller. That's the only reason I know how to catch," Vorhees said. "Just keep your arms tight, make sure you're running to the ball, not running backwards."

On the other hand, some linemen didn't fare quite as well. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken specifically named Ben Cleveland and Roger Rosengarten as players who were "too casual" during the drill.

"I thought Ben and Roger were really too casual, to be honest," Monken said. "They looked athletic enough – they certainly believed in themselves – but they were certainly too casual."

The Ravens have one more practice on Tuesday, then fly to Kansas City on Wednesday for Thursday's season opener.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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