It has been a hot, action-packed, and at times, frustrating, week for the Ravens as they chug along the camp season. They suffered a huge injury, then made a move to address it, and the more injuries affect the Ravens, the more they will need other younger pieces to step up.
While the story should have been how the Ravens were doing against the Commanders, Marlon Humphrey’s injury took all the attention.
Humphrey is a player the Ravens can’t afford to lose due to the lack of depth at corner, and so, of course, they lost him for about a month. While the first month does feature some “lesser” opponents, they also have to go to Cincinnati to face the Bengals (who have their own question mark with Joe Burrow), and they have to play the Browns in Week 4. Those teams both feature intimidating receiver corps, and going into those games without a top-5 corner is a recipe for disaster. Visions of last year’s Dolphins debacle – or the 2021 games against Cincy – dance in our heads.
Luckily EDC understood the assignment and sniffed around for, and ultimately found, some help.
Darby, a former second-round pick by the Bills, will be in his 9th NFL season. He's joining his fifth team. He has eight career INTs. He's more of an outside corner, which is what the Ravens were looking for after Humphrey went down. https://t.co/aftVUETTFB
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 17, 2023
Darby has always been a solid corner, but injuries have affected him. He is coming off an ACL tear, but it seems he will be healthy enough to play in Week 1. Darby was a fit over someone like Bryce Callahan or Troy Hill because he can play outside corner, and the other options are more slot types.
It is slim pickings on the market, but at least EDC jumped at getting this done.
The other in-house options need to step up if called upon, and the Ravens got one of those pieces back at practice.
Jalyn Armour-Davis, Ronnie Stanley and Isaiah Likely are back practicing
Melvin Gordon, who left Wednesday’s practice early, is also back practicing— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 17, 2023
Jaylin Armour-Davis is now put into a position where he needs to stay on the field and show something. He hasn’t been fully healthy since college, but it is time to put up or shut up. While it may not be ideal for the youngster, this is the reality he is faces. He needs reps to show something, which is hard if you are in the training room more than on the actual field.
The Ravens have also looked into another outside option.
I’m told free agent CB Anthony Brown has already “worked out” for the #Ravens. https://t.co/Ve3TNHQrTT
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) August 17, 2023
Anthony Brown is another player coming off a torn ACL, and he doesn’t have the pedigree of success that Darby does.
One thing that could really help the Ravens while Humphrey is out is a breakout from their young pass-rushers:
Odafe Oweh spin cycle😵💫 pic.twitter.com/9CuH73dQYv
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) August 16, 2023
That is straight-up nasty by Oweh. The spin move is one of the trickiest pass rush moves to pull off, and Oweh did it perfectly. How he translates his power move into that spin and puts Andrew Wylie on his rear is disgusting work. Has Chuck Smith unlocked something here, or did Oweh realize he isn’t a speed rusher and should use his power more? Could it be both? This is the time of year when stuff like this can get expectations out of whack, but who cares? Man, Oweh looks awesome.
Oweh might be one of the most important pieces to the Ravens defense holding serve while they wait for Marlon to return.
It will be an all-hands-on-deck situation when replacing a top corner. The Ravens are going to get Rock Ya-sin back soon, as he was spotted running around on the practice field, but it was good to see them being proactive in their search for help. This is a time of year when beggars can’t be choosers, and luckily Marlo isn’t done for the season, and they do have the benefit of two early games against rookie quarterbacks.
Hopefully, one of the young corners step up, or Oweh or David Ojabo break out to help, because they are going to need it.
