Zay Flowers points finger at John Harbaugh for Ravens’ injury history

After years of injury woes plaguing the Baltimore Ravens, Zay Flowers believes that trend will change under new head coach Jesse Minter in 2026. The fourth-year receiver directly blamed John Harbaugh for the recurring injuries, which he assured fans would not be an issue under Minter.

Flowers attributed Harbaugh’s difficult practice schedule to the Ravens’ injury woes, saying his former head coach had the team practicing in full pads and doing 1-on-1s for all 18 weeks. Flowers’ revelation on the ‘$th and South’ podcast had former hosts and former players Leonard Fournette and Jarvis Landry taken aback by the team’s routine.

“However many practices we can get, every single one [was in full pads],” Flowers said on the ‘4th and South’ podcast. “Bro, we doing 1-on-1s in Week 17. Everybody out there, we tired… That’s why, lowkey, we had a lot of injuries because of how we practice. The first two games of last year, I ran 10,000 yards. I ran 20,000 yards in two games and still ran 4,000 [or] 5,000 [every day in practice throughout the week].”

Flowers believes Minter will save the team from the exhausting schedule. He went on to say that the practice schedule was among the first conversations he had with his new head coach, who assured him it would not be the same as Harbaugh’s.

“I talked to the new coach [Jesse Minter], he worked with Harbaugh in 2017, so he knows how it was. So he’s like, ‘You gonna get your work, but it’s going to be a little bit easier on your body to be fresher for the games.'”

#Ravens WR Zay Flowers says under John Harbaugh they were always in full pads, doing 1-on-1s late in the season, and “it’s why we had a lot of injuries.”

Flowers says new HC Jesse Minter has assured him, “it’s going to be a little easier on your body.”

( @4thAndSouthPod) pic.twitter.com/PwpliUUjsG

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 17, 2026

The Ravens went 8-9 in 2025, falling one game short of another AFC North divisional title and missing the playoffs, which led to Harbaugh’s firing. Lamar Jackson notably missed four games, during which the team went 2-2. Roquan Smith, Marlon Humphrey, Isaiah Likely, Teddye Buchanan, Rashod Bateman and Kyle Van Noy each also missed multiple games throughout the year.

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