OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens moved practice outdoors on Wednesday as they prepared for wintry conditions for their divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans on Saturday.
Even though snow covered most of the practice area, the Ravens’ grounds crew placed a tarp over one of the fields so the players could run drills outdoors and on the grass.
The Ravens could not practice outdoors on Tuesday because the fields were frozen.
“We’ll practice in [the cold],” coach John Harbaugh said. “We practiced in it the last couple of weeks. It was pretty cold the last couple of weeks [with] a lot of wind, so that’s been good for us. I kind of feel good about that.”
The Ravens don’t usually have to take such steps for outdoor practice. However, the Baltimore metro area got 3-to-5 inches of snow on Tuesday, snapping a streak of 701 days without significant accumulation.
The players did not appear to be bothered by the cold weather with temperatures hovering around 25 degrees in Owings Mills. Inside linebacker Roquan Smith was wearing shorts and could be heard cheering his teammates during drills above the music blaring from the outdoor sound system.
Forecasters are calling for another 1 to 3 inches of snow on Friday and temperatures are expected to be below 30 degrees for the playoff game the following day. The Ravens and Texans are scheduled to play at 4:30 on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium.
When asked about playing in cold weather, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson replied: “I am ready for whatever right now.”
The Texans play their home games at NRG Stadium, which is a domed arena.
The Ravens players who were not practicing during the media viewing on Wednesday were cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf), wide receiver Tylan Wallace (knee), and linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips (shoulder). Those three also did not practice indoors the previous. Outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney also did not practice, but he likely was getting a veteran day off.
Moves
The Ravens re-signed wide receiver Laquon Treadwell to the practice squad and released wideout Tarik Black.
