OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh didn't change his final message to his players in light of an offseason where four players were arrested.
In the final practice before the start of training camp in late July, Harbaugh said he left his players with the "same high standard" talk.
"We have really good guys," Harbaugh said Thursday after the Ravens wrapped up their mandatory minicamp. "Football matters to them. The more it matters to you, I would think the less inclined you are to do anything that would jeopardize that."
Running back Ray Rice (assault), wide receiver Deonte Thompson (felony drug charges), offensive lineman Jah Reid (assault) and running back Lorenzo Taliaferro (destruction of property) were all arrested this offseason. Rice and Reid were accepted in pretrial diversion programs, and Thompson had his charges dropped. Taliaferro faces a June 26 court date.
The Ravens have their first full-team training camp practice on July 24, and they open their preseason on Aug. 7 against the San Francisco 49ers. Those two teams will hold four joint practices after the preseason opener.
Harbaugh said the Ravens will reciprocate in the near future.
"We will go back to San Francisco at some point in time, probably next year," Harbaugh said. "I'm excited by the fact that we've never done it before, we are going against a program that we understand what they're all about. We're not bringing in a program that we don't trust and doesn't believe in the things we believe in as far as hard work. It's going to be a program that mirrors what we're trying to do. To me, that's really important. I think we'll both get better as a result. Hopefully, the two head coaches won't get locked in any death grip and we'll be OK."