J.K. Dobbins’ absence from Ravens camp weighs on John Harbaugh
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BALTIMORE — Wednesday marked a week since the start of Ravens training camp. It also came and went the way the first six practices have: without the team’s top running back on the field.
For now, J.K. Dobbins remains on the physically unable to perform list.
When the fourth-year running back will be back is unclear, though it is apparent he remains unhappy over his contract situation. Dobbins is in the final year of his rookie deal and doesn’t have an extension, and the NFL’s cratering running back market is only weakening his cause.
“I don’t know,” said Harbaugh when asked when Dobbins’ absence becomes a concern, adding the two talked Tuesday night. “It’s a fair question. There is a point in time when it does become a concern.
“He wants to be out there and he needs to be there, just like any player does.”
That point of concern isn’t here yet, but it’s getting closer with each passing day and week.
Already, Dobbins skipped the Ravens’ voluntary offseason program and wasn’t a participant in last month’s mandatory three-day minicamp, though he did attend.
He has been in meetings during camp, according to Harbaugh, and shown up on the sideline a few times, chatting with teammates as well as owner Steve Bisciotti, general manager Eric DeCosta and president Sashi Brown. But by essentially being a hold-in, Dobbins has also missed being on the field in a new offense under coordinator Todd Monken that, at least so far, has featured a lot of passes to running backs, along with a healthy dose of running plays.
Dobbins’ absence has also left fans wondering when he’ll hit the field in a Ravens uniform and for how long, which at this rate might not be beyond this season.
In June, he sent out a series of cryptic tweets expressing his love for the team and desire to finish his career in Baltimore but added “IDK tho sadly,” before eventually deleting it. Then on the same day minicamp wrapped, he appeared on WJZ-TV to address his absence, saying, “The business side is very hard.”
“The thing I can say is I would love to be a Baltimore Raven for the rest of my career. … I hope that happens,” he continued. “It’s never just roses and daisies.”
When Dobbins was approached for an interview by reporters in the locker room after the Ravens’ practice last Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium, he politely declined.
Meanwhile, the cat-and-mouse game drags on. Dobbins was one of several running backs on a recent Zoom call with the NFL Players Association to discuss concerns over the declining value of what was once a glamour position. He continues to sit out as a way to get paid, even when performance on the field is still the ultimate pathway there.
Take New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and a back who has topped 1,000 yards in a season three times, including last year when he ran for a career-high 1,312 yards, Barkley considered holding out of camp after the Giants franchise-tagged him. Instead, he agreed to a one-year deal worth up to a reported $11 million, which was slightly more than he would’ve gotten under the tag.
“If I sat out this year and say if the New York football Giants and I sat out and we did not have a good record, you think that’s going to make another team in free agency or the Giants have me come back the next year if I sat out a whole year,” Barkley told reporters. “Oh we want to give you $15 million a year now.’ I don’t think that is how it’s going to work. And after having conversations and really breaking it down, the only way I am going to make a change or do something that’s going to benefit myself and my family is doing what I do best.”
The same could be said of Dobbins, who when healthy has been among the game’s elite, with a career rushing average of 5.9 yards per carry. But he has also missed more than half his regular-season games because of injuries since the Ravens drafted him out of Ohio State in the second round in 2020.
Unlike Barkley, he has never topped 1,000 yards in a season, and he’s entering just his fourth year in the league, while Barkley is in his sixth with a more accomplished resume.
Still, Dobbins’ value can’t be understated. He is the best back the Ravens have among Gus Edwards, Justice Hill and the recently signed Melvin Gordon.
It’s also only a couple of days into August, and Dobbins does benefit, at least somewhat, from having been here for the past four years and having familiarity with most of his teammates and coaches, even in a new scheme. The first preseason game, Aug. 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles, is 10 days away, but Dobbins wouldn’t be playing in that anyway, not after he tore his ACL, LCL, meniscus and hamstring in the 2021 preseason finale.
Harbaugh isn’t overly concerned yet, but at some point that will change — for him, Dobbins’ teammates and the fans.
“You miss J.K. the player, you want him out there,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a great player and that’s one less great player we have out there.
“I don’t know when he’s going to come back. But I know I’m going to be really happy when he does.”