The Ravens limped out of The Bank on Sunday with a win over the Texans, and as of the writing of this article, we’re still not sure what the total extent of the damage looks like. Following three offensive starters and Marcus Williams all being forced to leave the game, Coach Harbaugh gave a post-game update that boiled down to not knowing much until the trainers took a closer look.
Coach Harbaugh says Ronnie Stanley, Marcus Williams and Tyler Linderbaum will undergo MRIs. pic.twitter.com/JnOIEJZ4cz
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 10, 2023
Yesterday, Harbs started his presser with a few updates, mostly that these are “wait and see” kinds of recovery periods.
Ravens S Marcus Williams will be out "for a while," but it's possible it won't be season-ending.
Ravens C Tyler Linderbaum has an ankle sprain. He's week-to-week.
Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley has ankle sprain. He's also week-to-week.
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) September 11, 2023
Unfortunately, we also got confirmation of the injury to JK Dobbins, and it’s not a good update. Whatever your feelings are about the way JK and the organization have had their disagreements, this is just an awful situation for a young athlete.
An MRI today confirmed that Ravens’ RB J.K. Dobbins tore his Achilles, just as the team believed he did, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 11, 2023
As we know, the Ravens have unfortunately become accustomed to the next man up mentality over the last few seasons. Now the question that needs to be answered between today and Sunday is, who are the next men up?
We were all hoping that a lighter preseason for the starters was going to mean fewer of these injuries, but the randomness of football is always going to mean things like this can, and will, happen. The extension of the cutdown day meant a longer look at the 90-man pool, so the possibility exists that a practice squad guy or a free agent could be brought back to help. Case in point:
I'm told the #Ravens are currently planning to activate RB Melvin Gordon from the practice squad, per sources.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 11, 2023
I have to imagine that Melvin Gordon is the low man in the hierarchy with Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. For now, it’s likely that he’ll garner limited carries until we see Keaton Mitchell become eligible to return. Luckily, running back is a position at which the Ravens seem to have quality depth, but there have been some suggestions that Baltimore should make a move.
With J.K. Dobbins Out For The Year With A Torn Achilles, The Ravens Should Go Get Jonathan Taylor https://t.co/Cbt1vxou2N pic.twitter.com/fnPOX1LTu6
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 11, 2023
Look… I like Jonathan Taylor a LOT but acquiring him doesn’t solve anything right away. He’s also not eligible to return until Week 5, and who knows if he’ll be ready by then? You also have to consider his contract situation, and the reality is that there are other big-name veteran RBs in the free agent market that could be cheaper on a 1-year deal. Let’s not do anything rash just yet.
Elsewhere, if Ronnie Stanley’s injury drags on and Baltimore has to slot someone in to replace him…
Patrick Mekari into the game at LT https://t.co/7XqjdjRD1e
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) September 10, 2023
Thank goodness that the front office kept Pat Mekari in town. He’s shown so much versatility and he’s ready to step in and play wherever you ask him to. My gripe with this situation is that, should Mekari become your starting LT for a few weeks, you can’t use him anywhere else. That becomes an issue if Tyler Linderbaum is also down, as Sam Mustipher becomes your only full-time center on the roster. If Linderbaum is down long-term, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jake Guidone be re-signed on a tryout deal until #64 is back up and running. At least the left side of the line had a decent early showing from John Simpson (in the second half at least).
Ravens' PFF grade leaders for Week 1 vs. Texans:
Offense
OG John Simpson (87.2)
OT Morgan Moses (79.3)
WR Zay Flowers (78.2)Defense
ILB Roquan Smith (86.2)
OLB Odafe Oweh (83.4)
S Marcus Williams (83.4)— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) September 11, 2023
Ravens OL Pass Block grades – PFF
OT P. Mekari – 79.4
RT M. Moses – 74.5
LT R. Stanley 74.4
LG J. Simpson – 71.7
C T. Linderbaum – 71.3
C S. Mustipher – 69.8
RG K. Zeitler – 51.0— Kyle Phoenix Barber (@KylePBarber) September 11, 2023
I’d be interested to see how heavily guys like Sala and Daniel Faalele get involved if the offense has to move some big men around up front.
The injury that probably concerns me most in the immediate future is Marcus Williams. With the secondary already down CB1, they could ill afford to lose another premier starter, but it sounds like Marcus’ injury may have him shelved for some time. The Ravens do have some in-house options that can fill into the spot, and Coach Harbaugh addressed that.
Harbaugh said he has confidence in Geno Stone and Daryl Worley to step in for Marcus Williams and said they may have some external options at safety, too. But Harbaugh didn't hide his disappointment for losing Williams for an extended stretch.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) September 11, 2023
It’s not that I lack faith in those guys, but my disappointment boils down to A). them not being Marcus Williams, and B). Only having one game of the top safety pairing before the team had to make significant adjustments.
It was a real bummer for the season to start on a bit of a sour note. Still, the Ravens are 1-0 with a chance to push Cincy to 0-2 after they were walloped by the Browns on Sunday. There’s nowhere to go but forward, so here’s hoping the next guys up can make it happen this weekend.
