Ravens' Kyle Hamilton Clarifies Tua Comments, Says Marlon Humphrey Was 'Hyperbolic' in Viral Video

Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton says reports of his excitement to play against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have been exaggerated.

Hamilton could be heard telling his teammates that Tagovailoa had entered Sunday's Week 5 matchup before picking off Tagovailoa's second pass of overtime to seal the Ravens' 30-23 win.

Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey later said on his podcast Hamilton seemingly knew he was going to record an interception as soon as Tagovailoa subbed in for an injured Michael Penix Jr.

"That was pretty hyperbolic by Marlon," Hamilton told reporters Thursday. "I would say the way he presented it was not how I would present it. It was moreso the defense's opportunity to go win the game. It doesn't matter who it was. Could've been a sack, fumble. Could've been a fourth down stop. Could've been a pick.

"And obviously Tua was the backup quarterback, and he hadn't played that much. I think he got one snap before that in the game. So it's like, 'Hey, we're taking advantage of somebody who's coming in the game, hasn't been in there for a while'... I just wanted to instill confidence in the defense that we were going to go out there and win the game."

Hamilton added he had respect for Tagovailoa both as a player and a person and there was "no malice" in his reaction.

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Penix suffered a rib injury late in regulation of the Week 5 game that necessitated Tagovailoa come in to finish out the drive.

"Kyle was like, 'Tua in the game.' He knew he was going to get a pick," Humphrey said around the 8:30 mark of Tuesday's episode of his podcast The Marlon Humphrey Show. "He literally was like, 'Oh, he better throw me one.'

"He was so excited. The most excited I've probably seen the guy. 'Tua in the game. Tua in the game.'"

Hamilton could be heard telling teammates, "We got Tua, baby" ahead of the second drive of overtime around the 23:40 mark of a mic'd up video shared Wednesday by the Ravens.

Tagovailoa was initially slated to serve as the Falcons' Week 1 starter before suffering an oblique injury that sidelined him until Penix won the starting role in his return from ACL surgery.

The Falcons are next set to host the Chicago Bears, which might not get their own chance to face Tagovailoa in Week 6. Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters Penix is on track to start Sunday despite his rib injury.