The Baltimore Ravens' 2026 training camp opens next week in Owings Mills, and for the first time in over a decade, John Harbaugh won't be standing on the sideline. Jesse Minter is. Declan Doyle is calling the offense. Trey Hendrickson is in black and purple and rather than orange and black. And somewhere above all of it, the shadow of Lamar Jackson looms over the entire operation.
Here are the five things that actually matter when camp gets underway.
1. Lamar Jackson, Declan Doyle, and the New Ravens Offense
The most important thing to watch at Ravens camp isn't Lamar Jackson's contract — extension talks are private, between him and general manager Eric DeCosta, and that's not changing. The Ravens restructured Jackson's deal this spring to lower the 2026 cap hit, talks on a new deal are described as in an "introductory stage," and Jackson has said he wants to stay. That's all you're going to get until there's actually a deal. Set it aside. Maybe until next year.
What camp will actually show you is how Jackson looks in Declan Doyle's offense. The new coordinator wants to use him under center more than any Harbaugh staff ever did, leaning into play-action as the foundation of the passing game. Jackson built his game out of the shotgun — every MVP season, every record run, came from that alignment. The adjustment is real, even if Jackson said during OTAs that Doyle is making his job easier.
Watch how naturally these changes come against live defense. Jackson has also dealt with injuries the past two seasons. Seeing him healthy and moving freely through a full camp is itself meaningful.
2. Jesse Minter's First Training Camp as Ravens Head Coach
Minter was hired from the Chargers, where he coordinated one of the better defenses in the league. What gets overlooked nationally: this isn't his first time in Owings Mills. He was a defensive assistant on Harbaugh's staff from 2017 to 2020, so he knows the building, knows the standard, and knows what Ravens football is supposed to look like. That familiarity matters. When he showed up in January, he wasn't learning a new organization — he was coming back to one.
The challenge is still culture. Harbaugh built something singular over 17 seasons. Players trusted him, through playoff runs and rough years alike. Minter earned quick credibility in the spring — Kyle Hamilton said the new coaching staff is going to help a lot, and Zay Flowers called Doyle a genius — but that's OTAs, in shorts, with no real stakes. Training camp is the first real test. Full pads, competition for roster spots, exhaustion setting in by the second week. That's where a new coaching staff either confirms or loses the room. Watch how the veterans carry themselves around him when things get hard.
3. Trey Hendrickson's Comeback: Can the Ravens' $112M Edge Rusher Stay Healthy?
The Ravens' most aggressive offseason move was landing Trey Hendrickson on a four-year, $112 million deal after the Bengals — inexplicably — let him walk. The edge rusher posted 17.5 sacks in both 2023 and 2024, led the NFL in sacks in 2024, and earned First-Team All-Pro honors. He is arguably the best pass rusher Baltimore has ever had on their roster.
Then came 2025. Hendrickson is coming off a season derailed by lingering core muscle injuries, and he appeared in only seven games. Core surgery in the offseason. A six-week projected recovery. The Ravens are betting $60 million guaranteed that the underlying talent is exactly what those two dominant seasons showed.
Camp is the first real test. Is he moving freely? Is he explosive off the edge the way he was in 2023 and 2024? The Ravens don't need him to prove anything in the preseason — they need to see that the body is right. If it is, this defense becomes genuinely scary alongside Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton, and a Nnamdi Madubuike who is reportedly on track to return.
4. Ethan Pocic, the Center Competition, and Baltimore's Rebuilt Offensive Line
After getting Pro Bowl-level play from Tyler Linderbaum for the past four years, Jackson will be receiving the ball from an unproven center. Linderbaum went to Las Vegas in free agency. The Ravens, who declined his fifth-year option and then tried to re-sign him, watched him walk.
Baltimore's answer so far is Ethan Pocic, a veteran who has started 97 NFL games over nine seasons and gives this competition real substance. The Ravens signed him in just the past few days. The catch: Pocic is coming off an Achilles injury. He's the most experienced option in the room, but training camp is the first real test of whether that Achilles is right — and whether he can hold up to the demands of a full season at 30 years old.
Jovaughn Gwyn and Danny Pinter remain in the mix behind him. With Doyle planning to use more under-center snaps than Harbaugh's staff ever did, the center-quarterback connection matters more here than it would in a typical scheme. Fans will be booing if they see a fumbled snap in a two-minute drill come gamedays.
The better news elsewhere on the line: Baltimore retained veteran John Simpson and invested premium draft capital in Olaivavega Ioane at guard, and Vega Ioane has reportedly been seamless in his transition to right guard since arriving. Ronnie Stanley is fully healthy entering his second consecutive complete offseason. The tackle spots are in good shape. It's the center position — and Pocic's ability — that needs clarity before Week 1.
5. Vega Ioane and Zion Young: What the Ravens' Rookie Class Needs to Show
The Ravens used their first-round pick on the aforementioned Vega Ioane (14th overall, OG, Penn State). He's 22, physically dominant, and already generating buzz as a Day 1 starter. Camp is where he either confirms that or hits his first real wall.
On the other side of the ball, Zion Young — the Round 2 edge rusher out of Missouri — will compete for immediate snaps in a pass rush rotation that suddenly looks very deep with Hendrickson and a potentially returning Madubuike. Young had 8.5 sacks in his final college season and dominated the Senior Bowl. Getting him ready to contribute in Year 1 is a real possibility. Watch how quickly he picks up Anthony Weaver's defensive system and whether he earns a role in sub-packages before the preseason ends.
This is just the start. Baltimore Sports Feed will have training camp coverage beginning next week. Follow along at baltimoresportsfeed.com.