Jesse Minter: We have to make players believe it's important to attend offseason program

Last week, new Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle sent a message to the team's players (and specifically to quarterback Lamar Jackson) regarding attendance at voluntary offseason workouts. On Wednesday's Chris Simms Unbuttoned, head coach Jesse Minter was asked about the voluntary nature of the sessions and the importance of volunteering to participate.

"First of all, I do have total respect for the rules that it is voluntary," Minter said. "Totally understand that. And Lamar has had unbelievable success doing it both ways. And so there's certainly a balance there. But I think it's our job to create an environment and a learning opportunity where they feel like it's really important to them to want to be there."

Basically, the players need to think they're missing something useful if they don't show up.

"Just like they're like, 'Man, this is high-level stuff. And this stuff's going to help us,'" Minter said. "I think, like, the feeling of what we're doing now will pay off in September and October and November versus, 'OK, we're coming in and we're kind of doing the same routine.' It just needs to be an environment that they really feel the importance of it."

As the Ravens install a new offense, it's obviously important for the players to be there. In 2024 and 2025, Jackson didn't believe it was important enough to attend sufficient offseason workouts to unlock an annual bonus of $750,000. Whether that changes for 2026 remains to be seen.