Jesse Minter will have a number of key decisions to make in his first year as the Baltimore Ravens head coach. One of the more pressing ones will be how he handles the preseason.More specifically, to play or not to play his veteran starters.In recent years, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh chose the latter, sidelining most of the established starters, and even some of the older backups, for the duration of the preseason schedule. The season-ending knee injury sustained by running back J.K. Dobbins in the 2021 preseason finale in Washington seemed to represent an inflection point for Harbaugh. He was visibly shaken on the sideline when Dobbins went down and much more conservative in terms of who played in the preseason in the years that followed.Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson hasn’t gotten a preseason snap since that same 2021 game in which Dobbins was hurt. Minter now becomes a key voice in deciding whether that trend continues.Why talk about Lamar Jackson's contract will only get louderJeff ZrebiecMinter was asked in March at the NFL owners’ meeting about whether he’d play starters in the preseason. He essentially said the decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and he didn’t tip his hand. By now, you can bet he and his staff have a good idea on how they’ll proceed.To be clear, this is not an easy decision. A new coaching staff means new schemes and different voices in the players’ ears. The crux of the work for the Ravens’ starters will come in training camp practices, but it potentially could benefit them — and the coaching staff — to log a handful of preseason snaps and work off the rust, while building momentum and chemistry with teammates and getting more used to the new play callers and position coaches.It could help the rapport between Jackson and first-year play caller Declan Doyle to go through a couple of drives together in game situations, even if the plan will be to keep things as vanilla as possible. Jackson getting game reps behind the three new offensive linemen projected to start and with the four drafted pass catchers before things get very real in the Sept. 13 regular-season opener in Indianapolis seemingly could pay dividends, as well.Opinions between coaches and league officials on whether there is a correlation between starters playing in the preseason and teams getting off to good starts are split. Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay has been known for being ultra-conservative during exhibition season and resting his top guys. Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid typically plays star quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a handful of series.It would be hard to blame Minter if he decided that the Ravens should try something different. Baltimore started 1-5 last year and 0-2 the previous season. In 2023, the Ravens split their first four games.With a tough November and an AFC-North-heavy December, the Ravens and their new coaching staff cannot afford another subpar start. They need to be sharp in all three phases heading into their regular-season opener where Lucas Oil Stadium promises to be loud.But Minter and the team’s decision-makers will also have to ask themselves how much starters playing a few preseason drives will matter come Sept. 13. Is the increased risk of injuries worth the reward of a potentially sharper and more comfortable team in Indianapolis?The Ravens have proven they can rebound after a tough start to the season. Would they be able to rebound from the loss of a key starter or two because of a significant preseason injury? Minter will be in no hurry to find out.Whatever he decides will inevitably be second-guessed. If the Ravens lose a key starter in the preseason, then they should have never been playing in the first place. If the Ravens are slow out of the gate, Minter’s unwillingness to play top guys in the preseason is a big reason why. Minter knows what’s at stake and may have already tipped his hand in how he’ll approach the preseason.He scheduled two sets of joint practices: a two-day session with the Minnesota Vikings before the teams meet in the second preseason game Aug. 22; and a one-day session against the Washington Commanders before their Aug. 29 preseason finale.Coaches typically tout joint practices as a way to get starters game-like reps against an opposing defense in a more controlled environment. Would Minter really ask Jackson, Derrick Henry and other key offensive starters to play in a preseason game after spending two days practicing against the Vikings’ starting defense?It stands to be one of Minter’s first big decisions as head coach.A few thoughts, opinions• The predictable uproar about Jackson’s 67-spot drop on the NFL Network’s Top-100 list brought to mind a scene several years ago as a few Ravens players were casting their votes in one of these player rankings lists (I don’t recall if it was NFL Network’s or not). One Raven decided to use the spots to cite special teams players. Another solicited names from those around his locker. Another player chose to recognize some of his friends and former teammates from around the league. That was probably the day when I decided that I’d never be moved by any of these “offseason” player rankings. That’s not a shot at NFL Network or any other outlet. I get why they’re done. They’re fun. They’re interactive. They create attention at the only “dead” time of the league year. They get clicks. But trying to extract significant meaning from these rankings — and getting worked up about the results — is certainly a choice given how little thought many put into the actual voting. Yet, here I am devoting more space to the rankings than they deserve.Lamar Jackson missed four games last season and the Ravens were 6-7 in his 13 starts. (Peter Casey / Imagn Images)• Baltimore predictably does some back-end roster shuffling before training camp, and one question the decision-makers might ultimately have to ask themselves is how long do they want to stick with five quarterbacks? There’s just not enough repetitions to go around for five quarterbacks and that was clear during organized team activities and mandatory minicamp when undrafted quarterbacks Diego Pavia and Joe Fagnano would go through some practices without any reps in full-team work. The Ravens signed veteran Skyler Thompson in early March, partly because No. 2 quarterback Tyler Huntley was about to welcome twins and would presumably miss some workouts. Baltimore wanted another veteran in the room in Huntley’s absence. Two months later, though, quarterback stands out as one position where the Ravens can afford to subtract. Even if the plan is to not play Jackson in the preseason, carrying three other signal callers is more than enough to absorb those exhibition snaps.• Business in the NFL will pick up in the coming days as executives and coaches get back in the building and await the return of players. Ravens veterans will report on July 28, a day before the team’s first full-team workout. It isn’t clear if the Ravens are in any active contract talks with their own players, but this would be an appropriate time for them to start working on deals. That’s what happened last year with safety Kyle Hamilton, who ultimately agreed to the deal a few weeks before the start of the season. The obvious candidates for extensions are Jackson and wide receiver Zay Flowers. Getting a deal done with either would put to bed at least one question that is primed to linger through the season and into next offseason.• For a team that underwent significant change this offseason, the Ravens go to training camp with precious few starting spots up for grabs. Injuries can always change that, but for now, how many starting spots are actually to be determined? One, maybe two? Center is obviously one. Beyond that, the biggest questions offensively are about swing tackle, No. 3 wide receiver, No. 2 tight end and No. 3 running back. Defensively, if Nnamdi Madubuike is ready to go, the lone defensive starting competition might be at inside linebacker and that’s really only in question because Teddye Buchanan, a 13-game starter last season, is coming off a major knee injury.Jul 16, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms