John Harbaugh Shuts Down Ravens Off-Field Issues

The Baltimore Ravens feel good about their locker room culture.

Oct 21, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh walks out onto the field for warm ups before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

In 17 seasons at the helm, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has helped establish quite the strong culture in the locker room and organization as a whole.

This season, though, that culture has been tested.

Throughout the year, multiple players have been reportedly frustrated with their roles on the team. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson is the latest example, as he's barely played since his arrival and just received a one-game suspension after refusing to enter a game. Safeties Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson have also been in this group, with the former essentially not playing anymore and the latter being released weeks ago.

Despite those issues, Harbaugh still feels very confident in the locker room culture he's helped to create.

"Guys have been professional – they work hard," Harbaugh said Monday. "Guys want to play, and it's based on opportunity, it's based on performance, it's based on need, all of those things. Our locker room has been fantastic, and guys have been working hard; you saw the way they practiced out here today, so I'm really happy. You see how hard they play every single week. We're in a great place, and I love our guys."

The Ravens (and every NFL team to be fair) are under the spotlight constantly, so any signs of trouble are going to make waves. However, they've done a pretty good job of handling it throughout the season, and show no signs of changing any time soon.

As the home stretch of the season approaches, though, they'd like to avoid any unnecessary distractions to keep their focus on what really matters.

"Guys know, but we try to speak it. We're all trying to be on the same page, but this is our opportunity, and it's about the football. Let's go play our best football. We're in a good place. We have a bunch of great players, a bunch of great coaches. We have some tough opponents in front of us starting with the Giants on Sunday, and let's go see what we're all about."

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