The Ravens are done rotating the "C" patch week to week. Jesse Minter's coaching staff announced Thursday that the team voted in five season-long captains, backed by a 10-player leadership council, marking one of the more visible cultural shifts of the new regime's first year in charge.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson headlines the group, joined by inside linebacker Roquan Smith, safety Kyle Hamilton, defensive lineman Calais Campbell and running back Derrick Henry. Baltimore's players voted Wednesday, and the results were made official a day later, just as the roster heads into a four-day break before Week 1 preparation for the regular-season opener against the Colts begins next week.
Our 2026 captains and leadership team‼️ pic.twitter.com/ABwCLJsT5a
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 3, 2026
The Five Season-Long Captains
- Lamar Jackson, QB — Entering the season as the unquestioned face of the offense and, now, the locker room.
- Roquan Smith, ILB — The defensive signal-caller and a captain who's earned it through pure snap-count reliability.
- Kyle Hamilton, S — At 25, the youngest name on the list, but already one of the league's most disruptive safeties.
- Calais Campbell, DL — Back in Baltimore after three seasons in Arizona, entering his 19th NFL season with a locker room already deferring to him.
- Derrick Henry, RB — The battering-ram back who's become as much a locker room fixture as a workload machine since arriving in 2024.
Why Minter Moved Away From the Rotation
Under previous head coach John Harbaugh, Baltimore typically rotated captain duties from week to week, spreading the honor around the roster. Minter scrapped that model in his first year running the program, opting instead for a fixed group that carries the title from Week 1 through the end of the season.
Asked what drove the change, Minter pointed to the makeup of this particular roster.
"I have seen it work every which way, and that is the key thing — it has worked all the different ways," Minter said Thursday. "I really just felt like we did have a pretty veteran team with what I felt like may be established leaders, and I want those guys to feel the responsibility of having a 'C' on their chest and being a team captain. So, I think there is a lot to it. But again, [I am] just excited. We have a great group of guys. There is a lot more outside of those 10. There are a lot of young guys I think that are on the come [up] for the future. But again, really excited about those five guys."
General manager Eric DeCosta echoed that sentiment when it came to Campbell specifically, praising the 40-year-old veteran's presence well beyond what shows up on tape.
"He is a great player. He is a better person," DeCosta said, "the way that he leads himself every single day, how he carries himself with his peers."
Five More Round Out a 10-Player Leadership Council
Beyond the five captains, the Ravens also built out a broader 10-player leadership council — the five captains plus tight end Mark Andrews, wide receiver Zay Flowers, long snapper Nick Moore, left tackle Ronnie Stanley and outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson.
Minter framed the council as a way to widen the circle of voices in the locker room without diluting what the captaincy itself means, giving newer or younger veterans a formal seat at the table even if they fell just short of the five captain slots.
"You sort of just get a mixture of guys," Minter said. "Sometimes when a guy has not been here long enough and everybody might not know him as well, but I kind of want the input of some of those guys. Again, these guys were kind of the next in line from the voting standpoint. It was a pretty clear indication that these 10 players overall have the respect of their teammates. We want them to be voices in the locker room. So, I think it was just a great opportunity to go beyond just five guys and really share the leadership and share the ownership of the team with those 10 guys."
A Notable Absence: No Special Teams Captain
One thing missing from Baltimore's new captain structure: a dedicated special teams captain. The role belonged to kicker Justin Tucker for 13 seasons before his departure from the organization. Tyler Loop now handles the placekicking duties, but the Ravens did not carve out a special teams-specific captaincy with Moore within the new five-captain, 10-council setup.
What's Next
With the captains and leadership council locked in, the Ravens now scatter for a four-day break before reconvening to start Week 1 preparations for their regular-season opener against the Colts. For a roster Minter has repeatedly called veteran and established, the hope is that a stable leadership group — rather than one that changes by the week — sets the tone from the very first practice back.