On Tuesday, the Ravens signed free agent cornerback Chris Johnson to their active roster. The addition of a veteran corner indicated that Jimmy Smith’s groin injury was potentially more serious than anticipated.
Well after the news today, apparently it was.
According to the Ravens official twitter account, the team announced that Smith traveled to Philadelphia and had a successful surgical procedure on his groin. The 2011 first-round pick is expected to miss a few games but return by the end of the season.
Injuries never come at the right time but for the Ravens cornerback unit is already dealing with the loss of Lardarius Webb for the season with a torn ACL. The already thin cornerback group just got thinner.
In a 55-20 blowout win over the Oakland Raiders this past week, Corey Graham started in Smith’s place and played in all but one of the teams 75 defensive snaps, finishing with two tackles on the day. Graham appeared in the 2011 Pro Bowl for his special teams play with the Chicago Bears and was signed by the Ravens to help boost their special teams, a unit that had plenty of issues during the previous season. Throughout the preseason, Graham played well at corner and his addition was added depth to what appeared to be one of the best secondaries in the NFL before the season began.
Graham had primarily been utilized on the defense as the nickel back once Webb was lost for the season during a Week 6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
