At the onset of their offseason program, the Ravens have signed a punter.
Baltimore announced on Monday that the club has brought in Luke Elzinga.
Elzinga went undrafted out of Oklahoma last year and spent rookie minicamp with the Titans. But he did not stick with the club and has not punted in a regular-season game.
Elzinga is left footed and averaged 43.1 yards per punt during his college career. He spent three seasons at Central Michigan before transferring to Oklahoma.
The Ravens need to replace Jordan Stout after the punter signed with the Giants in free agency.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson showed up for the first day of coach Jesse Minter’s first offseason program.
How long will Jackson stay?
For Jackson, there’s a $750,000 workout bonus tied to showing up for at least 80 percent of the offseason program. In 2024 and 2025, he waived the $750,000.
This time, new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle danced on the line of committing a CBA violation by stating an expectation that the players will volunteer to attend. Minter has explained that it’s for the coaching staff to demonstrate to the players the value in showing up.
For now, Lamar is there. And the Ravens social-media team has opted for positive reinforcement, celebrating his arrival and posting a video of Jackson participating, with a double-exclamation-point proclamation that “QB1 is setting the tone!!”
Still, how long will he stay??
It will be, if nothing else, a key barometer regarding Jackson’s current attitude toward the team, at a time when he’s still trying to get a contract that reflects the significant changes to the market and the salary cap since he signed his current contract in 2023. He can make $104 million over the next two seasons before becoming a true free agent in 2028, thanks to the no-tag clause in his deal.
As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. And the dance would be an easy one to do. Three new years at a new-money APY of $62 million, coupled with at least three years of practical guarantees, should be able to get it done. Whether the player and the team are prepared to make the commitment remains to be seen.
Either way, owner Steve Bisciotti wanted to do the deal before the start of free agency. With that not happening, what’s the next deadline? It’s a question every bit as fair as the question of whether his presence on the first day of the offseason program is a commitment, or a cameo.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s plans for the voluntary portions of the team’s offseason program have been a topic of interest in Baltimore and the team acknowledged that as players reported to the facility for opening day on Monday.
They posted a video of Jackson arriving to their social media account. The first phase of the program will last two weeks and allows for meetings and strength and conditioning work as well as rehabilitation for players coming off of injuries.
Jackson’s plans for the offseason drew attention when offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said in February that the team expected all players to be in attendance. Head coach Jesse Minter later said it is up to the team to show players why the work is important and offered no prediction on what Jackson would decide to do.
An answer came on Monday and Jackson’s continued attendance would be a plus as Minter, Doyle and the rest of the new coaching staff prepare for their first season in Baltimore.
Offseason programs will start getting underway around the NFL next week.
The ten teams that hired new coaches this offseason will be eligible to start working with their players on Monday, April 6. The Ravens are the only team that has set that as their first day of work while the Cardinals, Falcons, Bills, Browns, Raiders, Dolphins, Giants, Steelers and Titans have set Tuesday as their opening day.
All of those teams will also be able to hold a voluntary minicamp later in the spring. Every team is also scheduled to hold a rookie minicamp and a mandatory minicamp over the course of the next few months.
The first two weeks of work for all teams is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only. The three-week second phase allows for on-field work, but no full-speed team drills while the third OTA phase allows for team drills, but there is no live contact allowed at any point in the offseason.
Most of the 22 teams with returning coaches will be opening their offseason programs on April 20 or 21. The Broncos have set May 4 as their first day.
Jadeveon Clowney tied his single-season high with 9.5 sacks while playing for the Ravens in 2023 and he left a good impression on quarterback Lamar Jackson during his time with the team.
Clowney is a free agent after playing for the Cowboys in 2025 and said this week that he feels he has a lot left in the tank. He also said, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC, that his year in Baltimore was “a great time” and that he’d be open to an encore.
Those comments made their way to Jackson on social media and he was asked if he’d like to be teammates with Clowney again in 2026.
“Definitely,” Jackson wrote on X.com.
The Ravens signed Trey Hendrickson as a free agent last month, but backed out of a trade for Maxx Crosby so they may still have their eye on adding depth to their group of edge rushers.
