The Ravens are hopeful that both J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards will be fully healthy next season.
The ground attack took a major hit during training camp when both of those running backs went down with season-ending knee injuries.
GM Eric DeCosta was forced to find replacements off the street and the running game never hit its stride.
This year, DeCosta is closely monitoring the situation to ensure the Ravens are not put in the same position. In 2019, the Ravens broke the NFL’s all-time single-season rushing mark with 3,296 yards.
“There’s always uncertainty with those guys, due to the nature of their injuries,” GM Eric DeCosta said. “That being said, I know both guys, I know their work ethic, determination. We’re optimistic, of course, but there’s always … As we learned this year, there’s always going to be an unknown with injuries and how guys respond and how fast they get back. So, we’ll be conservative, I think, with those guys, for sure.
“We’ll assess the market, we’ll assess free agency, we’ll assess the Draft, and we’ll make the best decision we can regarding that position. [I] certainly expect that those guys will be back at some point. I don’t know exactly when, but we’re confident.”
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Dobbins injured his left knee after getting tackled on a screen pass in a 37-3 victory over Washington in the third preseason game. He was ruled out for the season and John Harbaugh admitted he second-guessed himself for having Dobbins in the meaningless game.
Dobbins was poised to have another solid season after leading the Ravens’ running backs with 805 yards on 134 carries with nine touchdowns as a rookie. He also scored a touchdown on seven consecutive games, which tied for the second-longest streak by a rookie in NFL history.
Dobbins was getting better at catching the ball out of the backfield and prepared to take some of the pressure off quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Edwards was a perfect complement to Dobbins and the Ravens arguably have the league’s best one-two punch at running back when both players are healthy, However, Edwards suffered a season-ending knee injury in the last week of the preseason after running for 723 yards on 144 carries with six touchdowns the prior year.
The Ravens signed Edwards to a two-year, $10 million contract extension in June 2021.
“Both guys are young, so that bodes well in their favor,” DeCosta said. “But we’re confident that, at some point this year, those guys will be playing football for us.”
Justice Hill tore his Achilles tendon in training camp after running for 225 yards on 58 carries the previous season. However, Hill made his mark on special teams, totaling a team-high nine special teams tackles and producing one forced fumble for a unit that allowed only 5.7 yards per punt return — fourth-best in the NFL.
After the injuries to Dobbins and Edwards, the Ravens signed Devonta Freeman (576 yards and five touchdowns) and Latavius Murray (501 yards and six touchdowns).
Second-year player Ty’Son Williams looked solid in training camp and was poised to play a bigger role during the season. However, Williams struggled with his blocking and assignments. He fell out of favor with Harbaugh was limited to 185 yards and one touchdown.
The running backs played hard under difficult circumstances, but the Ravens simply need more production out of the backfield.
With Dobbins and Edwards back in the mix, DeCosta hopes the team can get back to its record-setting ways.
