Baltimore Ravens put on a show for fans during practice at M&T Bank Stadium

Baltimore Ravens rookie Tyler Loop got his first chance on Sunday to kick in his home stadium in front of his home crowd.

The sixth-round draft pick out of Arizona blasted a 56-yard and a 60-yard field goal, and had a little fun with the fans, during the Ravens' open practice at M&T Bank Stadium.

"It's a beautiful stadium, beautiful environment, I love the purple," said Loop, who is expected to succeed Justin Tucker, who was released in May. "The fans are great. it's such a passionate city for football. it's really a big blessing to be a part of it."

A feel for the Ravens' crowd

The open stadium practice provided the rookies and newcomers a chance to get an early vibe of the Ravens' faithful, who flocked in thousands to the stadium.

The fans, especially those who couldn't get a ticket for the limited-occupancy practice at the Under Armour Performance Center, got to check out the new additions, including wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and cornerback Jaire Alexander.

"It's a good group. They showed a lot of love," Alexander said. "I'm new here, so I appreciate the love that they showed. They are a rowdy bunch, and I love it. It's going to be even better."

Of course, the returning stars, Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, Roquan Smith, and Kyle Hamilton, were front and center for fans to see.

Ravens' head coach John Harbaugh, who has 172 wins in 17 seasons in Baltimore, told his younger players to embrace the passionate Baltimore fans.

"I was telling the young guys, this is the chance to get connected to Baltimore fans, to Raven Nation, the Flock, to feel how enthusiastic they were," Harbaugh said.

Joint practice with Indianapolis

Sunday's stadium practice was the start of a busy football week for the Ravens.

The Indianapolis Colts will visit Owings Mills, Maryland, on Tuesday for a joint practice with the Ravens. The teams kick off their preseason schedule against each other on Thursday at M&T Bank Stadium.

"We have quite a week," Harbaugh said. "We had this (stadium practice), Tuesday the Colts will be at our practice facility, and Thursday night, we will be playing our first preseason game. That's quite a week in front of us."

Harbaugh said the majority of the starters and key players will get most of their work during the joint practice, and won't be available for the game.

"I'm looking forward to joint practice," Alexander said. "I'm tired of seeing our offense. I'm tired of seeing Lamar, Zay, and everybody running everywhere."

2025 season is approaching

The Baltimore Ravens, winners of the AFC North last year, have high expectations in 2025. 

They open the season on Sunday Night Football on Sept. 7 at Buffalo, where they lost 27-25 in the AFC Divisional round last season.

The Ravens' home opener is on Sept. 14 against the Cleveland Browns.

"I was talking to the veterans, and walking into the locker room is different," Harbaugh said. "A game locker room is different than a practice locker room. We've had victories in there, a lot of them. We've had some disappointments too. There's something different about walking into that locker room."