OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- There are no guarantees that Baltimore Ravens first-round pick Marquise Brown will be ready for the start of training camp.
"My expectation is the opening of training camp," coach John Harbaugh said Thursday after the team's final minicamp practice. "I don't think you can say that for certain because we just don't know how things are going to progress and where he's going to be. From what I'm told, there's been no setbacks. He hasn't been cleared to practice yet. But we're hopeful for training camp."
Brown, the first wide receiver taken in the draft, had foot surgery in January. He previously said he should be ready by training camp, and general manager Eric DeCosta said "conservatively" speaking that Brown would be back by camp.
Brown has yet to start running at full speed. If he isn't cleared in six weeks, he would start camp on the physically unable to perform list.
"We've had players that have had this injury, and it's a predictable injury," DeCosta said in April.
The Ravens are banking on Brown to become the big-play threat for Lamar Jackson and a passing attack that averaged 6.7 yards per attempt last season (26th in the NFL). Brown's speed downfield should complement Baltimore's run-heavy offense.
Baltimore understood Brown would need time to recover from a foot injury he suffered during the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 1, when he came down awkwardly after eluding a tackler in the open field. He played for Oklahoma in a College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Alabama in late December, but he didn't have any catches and was pulled in the second half.
When Brown declared for the draft, his agent thought it would be a good idea to get the foot checked out. It was revealed that he had a Lisfranc injury, which is a fracture in the middle of the foot.
"It's a serious injury. I think he's going to bounce back just fine, knock the rust off," said cornerback Jimmy Smith, who dealt with a Lisfranc injury five years ago. "He's a speed guy, not a reaction [guy]. ... His stuff is timed. He knows where he's going, so I feel like he's going to do well with it. I don't think it's going to be an issue with his speed or anything like that. But he has to knock some rust off and get back in the swing of things."
Brown has regularly watched practice and even jumped briefly into a drill Wednesday. Standing around the goal line, Brown would turn and catch a handful of passes from wide receivers coach David Culley.
"He spends a little bit of extra time going over those kinds of things," Culley said. "Unfortunately for him, he doesn't get to see himself to be able to correct things. [He's] just watching other guys. But I think he's coming along very well. He's picking up what we're doing. He has a pretty good understanding of what we're doing. He's been fine through this point."
The Ravens overhauled the wide receiver position this offseason, releasing Michael Crabtree and not re-signing John Brown in free agency. The only wide receivers on the roster who've caught an NFL pass are Willie Snead, Chris Moore, Seth Roberts and Michael Floyd.