T.J. Tampa makes his pitch for Ravens roster spot with excellent play

Training camp is filled with players waiting for opportunities. The ones who will stick around and eventually make the Baltimore Ravens‘ roster are usually the ones who capitalize once they finally arrive. T.J. Tampa appears to be doing exactly that.

With veteran starters Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins and Chidobe Awuzie firmly entrenched atop the cornerback depth chart, the competition behind them has become one of the more intriguing position battles of camp. Tampa has quietly emerged as one of its biggest beneficiaries.

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Currently, Baltimore’s 90-man training camp/preseason roster houses a dozen listed cornerbacks. Humphrey, Wiggins and Awuzie are penciled in as the starters, so let’s say the Ravens carry six cornerbacks on the roster. Nine guys are, in essence, competing for three spots.

The former Iowa State standout, Tampa, has consistently flashed when given additional work. During Baltimore’s third padded practice, he got off a block and ripped the ball away from running back Rasheen Ali. That’s strengthening his case to secure the fourth cornerback role as he enters the regular season.

Ravens CB T.J. Tampa delivers a big play on team drills, stripping the ball from RB Rasheen Ali.

Despite the fumble, Ali has had a good start to camp, breaking some long runs.

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) August 6, 2026

That’s no small accomplishment. Baltimore has long prided itself on fielding one of the NFL’s deepest secondaries, and earning meaningful snaps in that environment requires more than raw talent. It demands consistency, reliability and the ability to respond when opportunities arise.

Tampa entered the NFL with an impressive resume after earning First-Team All-Big 12 honors in 2023 and Second-Team All-Big 12 recognition the previous season. The Ravens believed enough in his potential to select him in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

His rookie season, however, never gained much momentum after he opened training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He’d eventually play 18 defensive snaps and another 138 on special teams spanning seven games of his first NFL campaign.

Last season offered a glimpse of his playmaking ability when he recorded the first interception of his NFL career against the New York Jets, but this summer feels different. Rather than simply trying to establish himself on the roster, Tampa is making a legitimate push for a defined role in one of football’s most talented defensive backfields.

He has earned the praise of his position coach, Mike Mickens. There’s still plenty of training camp and preseason football remaining, and a handful of practices rarely decide roster battles. Still, Tampa seems on the right track.

Baltimore couldn’t ask for much more from a young cornerback fighting to climb the depth chart. Tampa has made the most of his opportunities. If he continues to stack productive practices, he’ll make it increasingly difficult for the coaching staff to look elsewhere when final roster decisions are made.

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: T.J. Tampa makes his pitch for Ravens roster spot with excellent play