After two weeks of training camp, 12 practices and only a handful of actual tackle attempts, the Ravens will return to M&T Bank Stadium for their preseason opener Thursday night against the Indianapolis Colts.

Well, not all the Ravens. Quarterback Lamar Jackson and over a dozen other starters are expected to be held out of Thursday’s game, continuing coach John Harbaugh’s cautious approach toward August exhibitions.

But, after nearly seven months without a Ravens game, preseason football will have to suffice. As their Sept. 7 regular-season opener against the Buffalo Bills fast approaches, here are six pressing questions for Thursday’s game, ranked from most to least urgent.

What happens at punt returner?

Want to return punts for Harbaugh? Start with the basics: Don’t drop the ball.

“That’s where it starts,” he said Tuesday. “You got to be able to catch the punts. … Your punt catcher is more important than your punt returner. If you have both, then you’ve got something special."

It’s unclear what the Ravens have, exactly. Last year, they cycled through four returners — the injury-prone Deonte Harty, the fumble-prone Desmond King II, the inexperienced Tylan Wallace and the since-departed Steven Sims — and resolved to get help in the offseason.

They might’ve found it in sixth-round pick LaJohntay Wester, a productive wide receiver and punt returner at Florida Atlantic and Colorado. Wester’s contributions to the Ravens’ passing game in camp have been fleeting, but his job security depends on his competence as a returner. He had a big return in Tuesday’s joint practice with the Colts and has been largely reliable fielding punts in practice.

With live tackling in preseason games, however, that execution will be put to the test. Wester’s spot in the Ravens’ pecking order could sink after just one muffed punt. If the rookie struggles, a door could open for fellow wide receivers Dayton Wade and Anthony Miller, and perhaps Wallace. The Ravens have to finalize their initial 53-man roster by Aug. 26.

“I want to give all these guys an opportunity to showcase their skills, and they’ve all been working very hard out in the practices, so I think you’ll probably see all those guys back there at some point,” special teams coordinator Chris Horton said Monday.

What will David Ojabo and Jalyn Armour-Davis show?

Three years after Ojabo arrived as an outside linebacker with first-round talent and a worrisome injury history, and Armour-Davis as a cornerback with starter-level traits and his own worrisome injury history, the 2022 draft picks are on the roster bubble in the final year of their rookie contracts.

If the Ravens rest their top three outside linebackers (Kyle Van Noy, Odafe Oweh and Tavius Robinson), Ojabo should be in line for plenty of first-string reps Thursday. And, if the Colts start one or both of their first-string tackles in hopes of better protecting quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr., Ravens officials should get a good measuring stick for his ability. Left tackle Bernhard Raimann and right tackle Braden Smith are both high-quality starters.

The Ravens in recent years have kept five outside linebackers on their initial 53-man roster, but with Adisa Isaac still finding his way after a trying rookie year, Ojabo could get the nod as the team’s sixth. With his pedigree, it’s unlikely the Ravens would be able to sneak him on to their practice squad.

Armour-Davis, meanwhile, will also have to prove he’s more valuable in the short term than the longer-term investments the Ravens have made at the position. Armour-Davis has impressed coaches with his intelligence and inside-out versatility — defensive coordinator Zach Orr has called him “probably the smartest DB in the room” — and he’s far outperformed rookie cornerbacks Bilhal Kone and Robert Longerbeam, who’s missed the past week of camp. Armour-Davis’ special teams experience gives him another advantage over the Ravens’ younger cornerbacks.

But Kone and Longerbeam are under cheap deals through 2028, and the Ravens rarely part with draft picks after just one summer together — even sixth-round picks such as Kone and Longerbeam.

Which projected starters and key backups will play?

The most likely road map for the Ravens’ 2025 preseason is their 2024 preseason. Here are 20 healthy starters and contributors who didn’t get a single snap last year, position by position:

• Quarterback: Jackson
• Running back: Derrick Henry and Justice Hill
• Wide receiver: Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor
• Tight end/fullback: Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Patrick Ricard
• Offensive line: Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum
• Defensive line: Nnamdi Madubuike and Michael Pierce
• Outside linebacker: Oweh and Van Noy
• Inside linebacker: Roquan Smith
• Cornerback: Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens
• Safety: Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams

The list of inactives could be even longer this year. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins will likely get the Agholor treatment and cornerback Nate Wiggins the Stephens treatment. Right guard Daniel Faalele and right tackle Roger Rosengarten could be established enough that they get the night off. Defensive lineman Travis Jones doesn’t have much to prove. Robinson may play only sparingly at outside linebacker, if he plays at all. And if the Ravens don’t want to risk the health of rookie safety Malaki Starks, another projected starter, who could blame them?

That leaves only a handful of veterans with projected Week 1 roles to monitor, most notably running back Keaton Mitchell, tight end Charlie Kolar, left guard Andrew Vorhees, defensive lineman Broderick Washington, inside linebacker Trenton Simpson, and cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Chidobe Awuzie.

Alexander and Awuzie’s ongoing battle for a starting cornerback job is compelling, but it’s unclear how long they’ll play Thursday or what level of competition they’ll face. They might get a series (or less). They might get a quarter (or more). Indianapolis has a talented wide receiver room, but will Richardson be throwing to Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs and Adonai Mitchell?

Will Cooper Rush look like an upgrade at backup QB?

The Colts quarterback who’ll be backing up Richardson — on Thursday and most likely in Week 1 — is Daniel Jones, who signed a one-year, $14 million deal this offseason worth $13.2 million guaranteed.

The Ravens quarterback who’ll be backing up Jackson — and starting Thursday — is Rush, who signed a two-year, $6 million deal this offseason worth $4 million guaranteed.

For as long as Jackson is under contract in Baltimore, Ravens officials will be hard-pressed to invest big money or even significant draft capital in their QB2. But the hope this year is that Rush will be an upgrade on his predecessor, Josh Johnson.

Through two weeks of camp, the early returns are inconclusive. Rush, who went 4-4 last year as a starter for the Dallas Cowboys, is adjusting to playing in a Ravens system that’s a “little different world than where he came from,” quarterbacks coach Tee Martin said last Thursday. At Rush’s best, he’s been an effective game manager who’s given Ravens receivers chances downfield. At his worst, he’s been a limited passer who’s struggled under pressure and out of structure.

“You don’t make it as long as you have without understanding, one, what’s asked of you through your system and yet knowing your liabilities as a player,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said of Rush on Monday. “And I think he’s maximized that. I mean, he knows where to go with the ball, knows when to get it out on time, knows when to protect himself, understands concepts. That’s what makes him a true pro.”

Rush will likely lead the Ravens’ offense for most, if not all, of the first half Thursday before Devin Leary takes over. Even if the offensive line struggles, Rush should have a handful of solid weapons to turn to, from Mitchell to Kolar to wide receivers Devontez Walker and Wallace. The Colts’ secondary, meanwhile, could be without several key reserves because of injury.

Can Tyler Loop keep making kicks?

After a shaky stretch in offseason workouts and one errant afternoon early in camp, the sixth-round pick has robbed the Ravens’ kicking competition of almost any drama.

With the release of undrafted rookie John Hoyland, who was impressing with his accuracy, if not his leg strength, Loop is the only kicker on the Ravens’ roster. He should handle every field goal, extra-point attempt and kickoff Thursday. It might take a couple of poor preseason performances for the Ravens to consider bringing in a veteran leg.

“We all know that the games are what matters,” Horton said Monday. “But Tyler, from the day he walked in, [senior special teams coach] Randy [Brown] has just taken him and broken down, step by step by step, what we’re looking for. And, obviously, leg strength is not going to be an issue with Tyler. He can boom it. It’s about just being consistent, and he’s done a great job of that throughout this camp. You guys saw it yesterday.”

At Sunday’s practice, Loop’s first taste of kicking before fans inside M&T Bank Stadium, he went 12-for-12, including makes from 56 and 60 yards. Unofficially, through Tuesday’s practice, Loop is 58-for-62 in camp.

The degree of difficulty will rise Thursday, though. Not only will Loop have a bigger crowd and a TV audience watching him, but he’ll also have to manage the pressure of a field goal block team. Horton and Brown haven’t rushed Loop in practice, and Indianapolis didn’t, either, on Tuesday. That should change Thursday.

How will the other draft picks fare?

The Ravens won’t get a look at all 11 rookies. Starks might not play. Offensive lineman Emery Jones Jr. (shoulder) hasn’t been cleared for practice. And Longerbeam hasn’t returned to action since colliding with Wester last Thursday.

Still, that leaves plenty of rookies worth watching. Even if Starks plays, outside linebacker Mike Green could be the Ravens’ biggest draw. The second-round pick has stacked several strong padded practices in a row, highlighted by a sack against the Colts’ hurry-up offense Tuesday. Madubuike said afterward that Green is “just ready to rumble and just ready to just get after it.”

Thursday’s game could provide status updates on the Day 3 picks besides Wester and Loop, too. Can inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan and defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles handle the size of NFL run blockers? How limiting is Kone’s shoulder injury? How far along is offensive tackle Carson Vinson in his development? And does offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger look like a seventh-round pick worth keeping?

The Ravens are expected to retain most, if not all, of their draft class on their 53-man roster. But rookies need to show upward trajectories, too.