Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins didn’t go into much detail about his prolonged offseason absence on Wednesday, but he did say he was happy to be healthy and was ready to go for the coming season.
“I feel amazing,” Dobbins said, speaking to reporters for the first time since he was activated from the PUP list last week. “I feel pretty dang good. I’m just gonna leave it at that because I feel so good.”
Dobbins missed all of the team’s summer workouts and was absent for the start of training camp. He was placed on PUP list due to a chronic knee injury, but Dobbins also hinted at contract matters that held him up from reporting on time. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said at the beginning of camp that there was “some complexity” to Dobbins’ absence.
Asked about his early absence from camp, Dobbins didn’t reveal much of what might have happened behind the scenes.
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“Uh, that’s a tough question,” Dobbins said. “I was just, you know, being cautious. My teammates need me, so I want to be there for my teammates. That’s all it was. You know, my teammates understood what was going on. It’s all good now, I’m out here.”
Dobbins also clarified one thing: Just because he wasn’t practicing didn’t mean he wasn’t participating in the Ravens’ camp activities.
“I was here the whole time,” he said. “I was going to meetings.”
But Dobbins kept the financial details vague. He praised Harbaugh, the Ravens’ front office and ownership and indicated he wants to remain a Raven.
“Mr. Eric (DeCosta), he’s the best GM — the best GM in the game,” Dobbins said. “He’ll get it worked out. Whatever happens, happens. He’s gonna get it worked out. We have good conversations.
“And I have much respect for Mr. Eric, and Mr. Harbaugh, coach Harbaugh, everyone, Mr. Steve. It is what it is. In the time being, I’m going to go out there and play and do go. Hopefully I’m playing for the Ravens for the rest of my life, in my football career.”
The Ravens’ offseason did a 180-degree turn when Lamar Jackson signed a long-term extension in April following a bitter standoff, and they followed that up by picking Zay Flowers — one of the Ravens’ stars in training camp — a few weeks later in Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Optimism is running high in Baltimore, and Dobbins is foreseeing good things for him and his team.
Dobbins called on Wednesday himself “one of the top backs in the league” and believes he can have a big season in 2023 with the right workload. Perhaps that would grease the wheels on any lingering negotiations, if the contract matter remains unsettled following the season’s end.
“If I get the volume of some of the other guys,” Dobbins said, “it’ll be a real good year.”
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