OWINGS MILLS -- Anquan Boldin bolted into his pattern, freezing the secondary with a textbook jab step before breaking into the clear to haul in another pass. The Baltimore Ravens' veteran wide receiver had a lot of eyes on him as he completed a routine route, particularly a corps of young receivers that look to him for guidance and providing an example on how to play the position. As the oldest receiver on the roster, it's a natural role for Boldin. And Boldin, 31, broke into laughter when asked why he showed up for a voluntary organized team activity this week. "You didn't think I was going to be here?" Boldin said. "I felt it was important for me to be here. We have a lot of young guys. I think we're in a situation where they can learn just by seeing me out there, seeing me working. I felt my presence was very important." Boldin ran his patterns with a practiced motion and has shrugged off a knee injury that hampered him late in the season and required arthr...

OWINGS MILLS -- Surrounded by a phalanx of cameras with bright lights shining in his face, Billy Cundiff didn't blink. Undaunted by a horrific errant field goal in an AFC championship game loss to the New England Patriots that cost the Baltimore Ravens a potential trip to the Super Bowl, Cundiff was emphatic in delivering a message. The former Pro Bowl kicker insists that his confidence hasn't been shaken by flubbing a 32-yarder in the final minute of a bitter 23-20 defeat at Gillette Stadium that would have sent the game into overtime. "It's as high as it's ever been," Cundiff said Wednesday following an organized team activity practice at the Ravens' training complex. "I think the situation is pretty unique. I'll learn what I can from it and keep my confidence high. "It's not something where I'm trying to avoid it. I know what happened. I don't need to be reminded of it. I think it's a learning experience." With 11 seconds remaining, Cundiff hooked what'...

OWINGS MILLS -- Sliding to his left quickly, Bryant McKinnie beat Paul Kruger to the punch and prevented him from pressuring quarterback Joe Flacco. It was a practiced, fluid motion that the massive Baltimore Ravens' left offensive tackle performed with relative ease during an organized team activity. As a regular participant in the Ravens' offseason conditioning program, McKinnie appears lighter on his feet and in his body. "I'm glad I'm here so I can go through this now instead of what happened last year," McKinnie said. "Last year, I felt like I was on Celebrity Fit Club." The 6-foot-8 former Pro Bowl blocker said he's down to 358 pounds with a target goal of getting down to 345 pounds. "He’s been working really hard," Ravens coach John Harbaugh. "He has been around here most of the time. Conditioning has been a paramount priority, and he has done a good job. We’ll just have to see how he does as we go forward. I think he’ll...

OWINGS MILLS ~  The Ravens fully expect star free safety Ed Reed to play football this fall, according to coach John Harbaugh. Reed indicated last week in a radio interview that he wasn't 100 percent committed for this season and had contemplated retirement, later backtracking from those remarks. "Ed is a guy that I really trust and really care about," Harbaugh said. "I believe in him. There's been no indication that he's not going to play this year as far as I'm concerned. "I don't worry about Ed. Ed's a mature guy. He's a superstar. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He's a leader. Ed will be here. We're counting on Ed being here." Reed acknowledged contemplating retirement during the interview, but hours later 24x7 was provided a quote from him where he said he planned to continue to play football. "It's not about retirement, it's about my focus in the offseason, health, family and football," said Reed, who has battled hip, neck and...

OWINGS MILLS  ~  The majority of the team attended the voluntary workout, including quarterback Joe Flacco, fullback Vonta Leach, wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith and cornerback Lardarius Webb. Among those not attending: unsigned franchise running back Ray Rice, who's not planning to go to practices or workouts until he gets a new contract, middle linebacker Ray Lewis, Reed, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, who's recuperating from Achilles tendon surgery, center Matt Birk and Cal-Poly rookie cornerback Asa Jackson. Under NFL rules, Jackson isn't allowed to attend workouts until graduation ceremonies commence at his school. Wide receiver David Reed (anterior cruciate ligament) and cornerback Cary Williams (hip) were at practice, but didn't participate as they recover from their respective surgeries. "It’s really not a problem at all," Harbaugh said of not all the players being there. "You still run practice....

OWINGS MILLS -- LaQuan Williams emerged as the biggest surprise from the Baltimore Ravens' undrafted rookie class last summer. The former University of Maryland wide receiver beat the odds to make the active roster, forging a role on special teams and as a reserve on offense. Now, Williams is facing a new challenge: making the team again. The Ravens have been stacking the roster this offseason with new wide receivers, signing former Houston Texans return man Jacoby Jones to a two-year, $7 million contract and drafting towering University of Miami wide receiver Tommy Streeter in the sixth round. Consider Williams officially undaunted, though. "I'm just coming in focused," Williams said. "I'm going to do what I got to do to get on the field. I'm not going to ever take for granted where I'm at. I'm going to keep working hard." Williams caught four passes for 46 yards, returned five kickoffs for 109 yards and recorded four special-teams tackles last season. He ca...

OWINGS MILLS -- The Baltimore Ravens have promoted director of player personnel Eric DeCosta to assistant general manager. DeCosta was retained with a lucrative contract earlier this year that designates him as the Ravens' general manager in waiting. DeCosta, 41, was director of player personnel for the past three years after previous stints as a director of college scouting and an area scout. During his time as scouting director, the Ravens drafted the following Pro Bowl selections: linebacker Terrell Suggs, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, offensive guard Marshal Yanda, fullback Le'Ron McClain and running back Ray Rice. “When we extended Eric’s contract earlier this year, we changed his title,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “As Eric continues to grow in the personnel department, he is becoming a vital part of the decision-making process.” The Ravens promoted Southeast area scout Joe Douglas to national scout, promoted David Blackburn to area sco...

OWINGS MILLS -- Baltimore Ravens star free safety Ed Reed indicated once again that he's not completely committed to playing this fall, a recurring theme for the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Reed has acknowledged contemplating retirement in the past, and did so again during a Sirius NFL radio interview. Hours later, though, 24x7 was provided a quote from Reed where he said he planned to continue to play football. "It's not about retirement, it's about my focus in the offseason, health, family and football," said Reed, who has battled hip, neck and shoulder injuries in recent years. "This is the time of year where players think through things. My goal is to play football in the years to come." Reed, 33, is entering the final year of a six-year, $44.2 million contract and is due a $7.2 million base salary this season. What's consuming Reed at this time? "A totally different focus now, trying to care of my son, spend time with my son and my famil...

OWINGS MILLS -- Retired Baltimore Ravens All-Pro offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden has been selected for induction to the College Football Hall of Fame. Ogden was a consensus All-American at UCLA who was selected by the Ravens fourth overall in 1996 with the first draft pick in franchise history. The induction ceremony is in September. At UCLA, Ogden won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top lineman as he started all four years for the Bruins. He's already in the UCLA Hall of Fame. A nine-time All-Pro, Ogden is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame next year and is regarded as a likely candidate for first-ballot consideration. With the Ravens, the 6-foot-9, 340-pound Ogden was named to 11 Pro Bowls. He was named to the Ravens' Ring of Honor four years ago. Ogden joins 13 others former standouts in the College Hall of Fame, including Cal quarterback Steve Bartkowski, BYU quarterback Ty Detmer, Rice quarterback Tommy Kramer, LSU running back Charles Alexander, Purdue running b...

OWINGS MILLS -- Newly-minted Baltimore Ravens wide receiver and kick returner Jacoby Jones' two-year, $7 million maximum value contract includes a $1.8 million signing bonus. His base salaries are $700,000 this year and $3 million in 2013 with corresponding salary-cap figures of $1.6 million and $4.9 million. He's due a $1 million roster bonus next year. Jones' contract includes an escalator clause next year. Including Jones' deal, the Ravens are now $1.12 million under the NFL salary-cap limit. The Ravens used 100 percent of their rookie salary pool of $4.318 million, spending a total of $22.78 million for their eight rookie draft picks. The most they could have spent over the course of the deals was $23.749 million, saving $880,184 over the next four years. The total compensation for the rookies: second-round linebacker Courtney Upshaw ($5.296 million), second-round offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele ($3.345 million), third-round running back Bernard Pierce ($2.655 million), fo...