Through two weeks of organized team activities, it’s clear John Harbaugh has more on his mind than he’s able to say.

These May and June sessions, without pads and real contact, are voluntary. That doesn’t mean that coaches don’t want to see the whole team present. With 18 players missing on Thursday — including Lamar Jackson, Kyle Van Noy, Derrick Henry and Kyle Hamilton — it seemed clear Harbaugh was at least a little frustrated, even if he felt he couldn’t say it directly.

“Nobody’s required to tell you exactly what’s going on, so I’m not really specifically going to be able to comment on anybody that way,” Harbaugh said. “But the guys who were here were great, flying around, and those are the guys we had a great time coaching.”

OTAs almost naturally breed some kind of disappointment. Inevitably, veterans don’t feel the need to go to every workout, especially if they’ve been in place for a long time with the same coaching staff. Coaches want to make the most of these workouts, but every time a star skips, it feels to them like a missed opportunity.

“We want to be going forward as fast as we can — no drag, making ground, getting better every day,” Harbaugh said. “One percent better today than yesterday, one percent better tomorrow than today, and it takes a lot of work to do that. So, as a coach, that’s what you’re always looking for.”

Barring perfect attendance for every practice, it’s just about impossible for everyone to win in OTAs, which is a good reason to consider getting rid of them altogether.

A report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero indicates that the NFL Players Association is finalizing a proposal to end OTAs in favor of a longer training camp to ramp up for the season. Part of the justification appears to be medical: Pelissero reported that one of the NFLPA’s top concerns is longer recovery time between seasons, hopefully leading to a decline in injuries.

It seemed telling that Harbaugh, who would love to have a full house for OTAs, was intrigued by the idea.

“The thing I’m really encouraged by with a proposal or a thought like that is the fact that the union and the league are working together on it,” he said. “Right now, it’s not probably perfect. I think the different studies they’ve done would say that the timeline is not really great, and so if they can kind of make the timeline better somehow and both the union and the league agree that this is the best way to do it, that would be fantastic.”

A longer offseason break might help the Ravens avoid injury. But also it would end a system of compromise that doesn’t really seem to work well for the NFL’s coaches and veteran players.

We have heard from players who are in OTAs, and the feedback is that it helps keep their form sharp, or allows them to start getting back in the groove. There is a thought, also, that coaches and players with children might get to spend more time with them during the summer under the current system.

It can help rookies and fringe-level players learn the playbook and get reps. For a player like tight end Mark Andrews, who missed significant time with injuries last season, having these sessions can be helpful, too.

“I don’t really mind [the way it’s set up right now],” he said. “I think this is a good time period of guys coming back here, working. You’re able to get with the team, get the plays in, and then you get that extra break off, which is kind of nice for your body. It’s kind of nice for everything, just getting your head back right, but I don’t know the right answer to that.”

But the players who aren’t in Baltimore for the workouts, or have attended just one or two sessions, are speaking with their absences. Many players don’t live in the city where their team is based. Many of them value their time off with their families or friends in an NFL season that has gotten longer in the last few years and could get longer still in the coming years. I’ve written in this space before that I don’t personally believe OTA attendance is a defining factor in the performance of top-level players — and several of those players seem to believe the same.

The situation puts veterans and coaches at loggerheads: Vets want the time off, but coaches fear not making the most out of each and every day they get on the field. The “voluntary” piece makes this endeavor fraught, because missing OTAs is technically allowed, even if coaches and staffers may feel missing them undermines the team somehow.

By getting rid of OTAs and replacing it with a longer mandatory training camp, theoretically both of these groups get closer to what they want. There’s a longer, uninterrupted break, better attendance for on-field practices, and no drama about who is (or isn’t) at voluntary workouts. It would probably be a relief for Harbaugh, who always seems to be holding back some disappointment this time of year when players inevitably opt out.

We’re probably far off from seeing actual change to the offseason, and Pelissero reported that the NFLPA is soliciting player feedback to see if this is, in fact, a change that players want. But at least on its face, it seems like an obvious win-win — even to the guys who do come out for OTAs as they are now.

Cornerback Brandon Stephens said he likes both set-ups. Still, he sees the benefits of change.

“Obviously, it would be good to have a longer break,” he said, “and then once we’re here, get it going.”