The Ravens and Commanders announced Thursday that they have mutually agreed to cancel next week’s scheduled joint practice, giving both teams one less chance to test their mettle against non-teammates.
The practice was scheduled for next Thursday, Aug. 21, two days before they meet in their preseason finales, but Baltimore cited ‘logistical issues’ in announcing the decision.
"Recognizing the logistical challenges – with our teams' previous games scheduled on different days – and the added strain on players heading into a short week, the Ravens and Commanders mutually agreed to no longer hold a joint practice next week. Instead, we will concentrate on preparing for our upcoming preseason matchup," the Ravens said in their announcement.
Baltimore’s next preseason game is Saturday in Dallas, while the Commanders don’t play until Monday night – so those logistical issues seem to be the Commanders having just two days between game and joint practice, and then one day again before the preseason game itself.
"Sometimes just schedules don't sync up as it hits,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told the media Thursday. “We’re bummed. We got a lot of respect for them and were looking forward to facing them."
Quinn also said the cancellation won’t affect his decisions on how much playing time his starters get against the Bengals and Ravens, the former a something that questioned a lot already before the practice was canceled.
Washington did have an intra-squad scrimmage earlier this week as a way to break up their 10-day stretch between preseason games, as their first contest was last Friday at New England.