{"id":861416,"date":"2026-04-08T19:01:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T19:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861416\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T19:01:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T19:01:31","slug":"ravens-see-wonderful-turnout-as-first-offseason-under-jesse-minter-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/861416\/","title":{"rendered":"Ravens see \u2018wonderful\u2019 turnout as first offseason under Jesse Minter begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Join the huddle. Sign up here<\/a> for Ravens updates in your inbox.<\/p>\n

The Ravens gave the final push to close the door on the John Harbaugh era Wednesday as each player who stepped up to the microphone after offseason workouts took time to share his final thoughts.<\/p>\n

Tight end Mark Andrews began his press conference by saying he felt blessed to have played for Harbaugh for so long.<\/p>\n

Wide receiver Zay Flowers said he was thankful to him for drafting him three years ago.<\/p>\n

Safety Kyle Hamilton said once the shock of the news wore off, he took a moment to reminisce on the good times.<\/p>\n

All three wished him luck with the New York Giants even if, as Hamilton joked, he stole a lot of their teammates in free agency.<\/p>\n

And then each turned their focus to the future.<\/p>\n

As the Ravens offseason program kicks off, here\u2019s what the players, along with strength and conditioning coordinator Scott Elliott, had to say:<\/p>\n

Jesse Minter presents a mostly fresh start\"BaltimoreRavens head coach Jesse Minter speaks during the NFL scouting combine in February. (Michael Conroy\/AP)<\/p>\n

Not to discredit the depth and detail of the coaching search led by Ravens leadership, but Jesse Minter seemed like a \u201cshoo-in\u201d for the job, Hamilton said.<\/p>\n

He is both \u201cnew and not new,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n

Even in conversations about his role on the defense, Hamilton said Minter has his own twists but it\u2019s not anything all that different from how Hamilton has been used in past years.<\/p>\n

Both Minter and new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver have confronted the defense\u2019s shortcomings, Hamilton said. While he knows Weaver from his previous tenure in Baltimore, Hamilton met Minter for the first time in person Monday. He\u2019s only had a few days to form an impression but said Minter keeps players engaged in meetings that are basically a masterclass.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe cares a lot about the process, the learning process, especially,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201c… He explains it in a very elementary way that kind of can become a masters level once we get to camp and the beginning of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a defensive player, Hamilton will have more interactions with Minter, who will call defensive plays, but the offensive players said they\u2019ve liked Minter\u2019s energy so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys are fired up,\u201d Andrews said of the new staff.<\/p>\n

Flowers added that it\u2019s a new opportunity for everyone to start over.<\/p>\n

Players and Elliott have noted Minter\u2019s attention to detail. Elliott said he\u2019s emphasized developing an individual approach for each player and finding ways to carry the work in the strength and conditioning program onto the field.<\/p>\n

As the Ravens went about their coaching search, players from Minter\u2019s former team, the Los Angeles Chargers, texted Hamilton to put in a good word, he said. Expectations are high.<\/p>\n

Flowers, like many others, compared Minter to former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody here,\u201d Flowers said. \u201cEverybody want to prove something. Everybody want to take that next step. Like coach Mike Macdonald went to Seattle, won a Super Bowl in two years. We trying to get that done. We trying to get that done this year, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lamar Jackson present and accounted for\"\"Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson scores in the second quarter against the Pittsburg Steelers on Dec. 7, 2025. (Jerry Jackson\/The Banner)<\/p>\n

As a fellow South Florida native, Flowers gets to put in extra work with quarterback Lamar Jackson in the offseason.<\/p>\n

But that means he gets asked every year about Jackson\u2019s mentality, he said. And just like every year, he feels like Jackson\u2019s \u201calways ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe even more ready this year,\u201d Flowers said. \u201cHe\u2019s excited about the coaching staff. He excited about getting to work with coach Declan [Doyle]. So yeah, he ready to go. He want to finish. He want to get a ring.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked at the annual league meeting eight days ago about Jackson\u2019s expected participation, Minter was noncommittal<\/a>, saying \u201cWe\u2019ll see who all walks in the door\u201d on April 6.<\/p>\n

When Monday came, the Ravens posted a video of the star quarterback\u2019s arrival. Elliott said the turnout has been \u201cwonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCouldn\u2019t be more excited for the body of work we\u2019ll get to see on Sundays,\u201d Elliott said when asked about his communication with Jackson this offseason.<\/p>\n

Nnamdi Madubuike\u2019s back in town\"\"Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike stands in the middle of the defensive huddle during training camp on Aug. 19, 2025. (Ulysses Mu\u00f1oz\/The Baltimore Banner)<\/p>\n

While the Ravens dodge questions about Nnamdi Madubuike\u2019s status after he suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 2, the Pro Bowl defensive lineman has been posting pictures and videos of him working out.<\/p>\n

Elliott wasn\u2019t able to speak on Madubuike\u2019s outlook, but he was able to address his conditioning.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeeks is working his tail off,\u201d said Elliott, who has been in constant communication with Madubuike. \u201cAnd as I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve seen online, he is in great shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

NotesFlowers, who is in the fourth year of his rookie contract, said he is letting his agent handle discussions on an extension. He said he would like to stay in Baltimore.Flowers and Andrews described Doyle\u2019s new scheme as \u201cexplosive\u201d and \u201celectric,\u201d respectively. Andrews said Doyle has been a really good teacher.Both Hamilton and Elliott have been impressed with the Ravens\u2019 biggest free agent signing, defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Elliott said he\u2019s an elite physical specimen, while Hamilton said he expects him to \u201csack the quarterback a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Join the huddle. Sign up here for Ravens updates in your inbox. The Ravens gave the final push…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169,8896],"class_list":{"0":"post-861416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-ravens","14":"tag-training-camp"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116370636877650928","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}