If we had told you during the spring that a Baltimore Ravens star would not participate in mandatory minicamp this month, most figured we were talking about Lamar Jackson.
That’s not the case. Jackson signed a lucrative long-term extension with the Ravens in late-April. He was in attendance this week, tossing the ball around the field in Owings Mills.
While he was actually in attendance, star running back J.K. Dobbins did not take place in practice or individual drills. There is an obvious reason for this. The former second-round pick from Ohio State is seeking a new deal. He touched on that Thursday.
“The business side is very hard,” J.K. Dobbins told reporters, via WJZ-CBS Baltimore. “It’s very different. But it’s part of it. It’s part of the dream and it’s something that I’m blessed with, to deal with the business side of that. You saw with Lamar, it’s never just roses and daisies. It can be hard at times. It’s business, though.”
Dobbins, 24, is entering the final year of his rookie contract after Baltimore made him the 55th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He’s set to earn a base salary of $1.39 million.
It is certainly surprising that Dobbins is bringing up contract issues as he enters a make-or-break season with the Baltimore Ravens. He’s played a total of 23 games in three seasons, missing the entire 2021 campaign due to a torn ACL. He also missed nine games this past season.
Related: Lamar Jackson sheds light on new-look Baltimore Ravens offense for 2023 season
J.K. Dobbins stats: 226 attempts, 1,325 yards, 5.9 average, 11 TD
As you can see, Dobbins has performed extremely well when he’s actually been on the field for Baltimore. The issue here has been availability.
It also seems as if Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is a bit disappointed in Dobbins not taking part in mandatory minicamp.
“I expected J.K. to practice, and it just wasn’t in the cards apparently. He will just get ready for training camp,” Harbaugh told reporters.
While Dobbins will enter the 2023 season as the Baltimore Ravens’ RB1, there’s very little reason to believe that the team will cater to him with a contract extension. There are also other options out there on the free agent market, Pro Bowlers Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott included.