The Underrated Ravens Addition Who Changes Everything This Offseason

The Ravens have broken mold in more ways than one this offseason, blowing up a coaching staff and flirting with trading two first-round picks for an aging pass rusher and then spending $30M per year for one.

It’s been anything but a typical winter and spring, by any and all accounts,

And you certainly expect rookie head coach Jesse Minter to make an immediate impact – he’d better at least on the defensive side of the ball – and Trey Hendrickson needs to perform like one of the better pass rushers in the NFL and the Ravens will need their top picks in this draft to show up right away in critical positions of need (even more on the offensive side of things).

But, looking at the organization holistically, and considering who could provide far more impact and value than what is expected or what could be the norm, I’d urge you to keep an open mind. Consider everyone being brought in from outside the franchise and how significant a role they are in and how expansive it may be and which portions of the roster the individual impacts. And consider how big of a previous hole or issue is he or she being brought in to repair.

All of which leads me to the conclusion that the most underrated offseason addition for the Ravens is actually not a player or a coach at all. It’s a new specialist to overhaul and rethink the very way the Ravens consider injuries and rehab and recovery and sports science and stretching and diet and training regimens.

Especially at a time when the coaching staff is largely so inexperienced and potentially overwhelmed by their new job requirements, all the reason to get an expert to take the medical side off their plate. Dr. Nic Gill, their new vice prudent of health and performance, previously of New Zealand’s legendary rugby team, is the type of innovative hire this organization needed to make.

Help Needed In The Ultimate Sport Of Attrition

No sport demands more physically of its players than football, and the Ravens altered their practice schedules and tried to adjust some of their philosophies under former head coach John Harbaugh, but nothing ever as sweeping as a hire like this connotes. The team clearly didn’t love what it was getting out many of its players with lengthy injury histories and needed new eyes involved with deciding which types of medically challenging cases to take on which to sit out.

Much is made of analytics in modern pro sports and especially as it becomes more the mainstream in the NFL, but that’s hardly the only area where teams can gain an edge. Finding ways to keep players healthier and happier – mentally and physically – is imperative and looking to poach the best and the brightest even if they don’t have a football pedigree is a sharp way to go about attempting to do just that.

Gill will be working with all position groups and practice squad guys and the players who come in for tryouts. He is coming in with a novice head coach who is a blank slate in this regard, and thus will certainly have a voice that resonates, He isn’t uprooting his world unless the title and responsibilities make it worthwhile

I don’t think the potential of his reach and impact can be overstated and it will be fascinating to hear and learn more about when and how he makes his presence felt across the board as Minter’s first season plays out.

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