PHOTOS: Ravens Working Out at Towson University

Baltimore Ravens players began three days of light workouts on the field and in the weight room at Towson University Tuesday.

A little more than 20 players were on the field at Johnny Unitas Stadium Tuesday doing low-impact running, passing and kicking drills. Though the first day of workouts was open to the media, the rest of the workouts will be closed to the public.

Players present included Derrick Mason, Joe Flacco, Haruki Nakamura, Ray Rice and rookie Torrey Smith (Maryland).

The players are unable to use the team's facilities in Owings Mills due to the ongoing NFL lockout, so Mason organized the workouts.

"It's not our choice to be somewhere else," he said. "Towson's been more than accommodating."

Tigers head coach Rob Ambrose was happy to help.

"You can't get in the politics of a lockout, but anything that we can do to help the Ravens and the state of Maryland," the Tigers will do, Ambrose said.

Fifteen Tigers football players were also on the sidelines on Monday, having stayed after Ambrose's 5:30 a.m. practice. The coach said he told his players to "keep your mouths shut and try to learn something."

The workouts offered another chance for Ravens players to brush up during the lockout—for new players, a first chance. For some rookies, it's their first time working with the Ravens playbook and with their new teammates.

"It's like when you're going to your first day of high school, first day of college," said rookie running back Anthony Allen. "I was really nervous, but once you've met everybody you realize we're trying to do the same thing. It gets intense, but you ease up a little bit."

One player not on hand? Ray Lewis. After the hall of fame-bound linebacker suggested in an ESPN interview this week that a missed NFL season could cause crime to spike, some players were asked for their response to his remarks.

"I'm not that naive and arrogant to think that what I do is going to affect John Doe and Mary Sue out there on the streets at home," Mason said, adding, "If he feels that way, then he feels that way for a reason."

Rice seemed to agree with at least some of Lewis's sentiment.

"Their Sundays ain't the same without us and I was touched by it," he said. "I was moved by the whole thing and regardless of any of it, I'm going to stick by my players."