Getty The former second round pick returned to practice for the first time in over a month.
The Baltimore Ravens backfield got a nice boost in Week 12 with the return of Gus ‘The Bus’ Edwards and they will be getting another boost in the near future when third-year running back J.K. Dobbins comes back from injured reserve.
The former second-round pick took the first step towards making a long-awaited return of his own on Wednesday, November 30, by taking part in his practice for the first time since October 14 ahead of the team’s loss to the New York Giants in Week 6 when he wasn’t even listed on the injury report.
.@Jkdobbins22 alert 🚨
“He’ll practice this week, to some degree,” head coach John Harbaugh said in a press conference on November 28. “I’m not sure exactly what they’ll let him do, so we’ll see.”
Dobbins had been on injured reserve since electing to undergo an arthroscopic knee procedure to help improve his range of motion with the intention of returning at some point during the season.
“He has no additional scar tissue since he has come out of there,” Harbaugh said after the procedure was done in early November. “I would characterize J.K.’s surgery as a smashing success.”
Prior to the procedure, Dobbins had appeared in four games, started each, and recorded 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns from scrimmage on 41 touches including 123 rushing yards and a score and 39 receiving yards and a score according to Pro Football Reference.
Potential Impact Upon Return
Both Dobbins and Edwards are coming off of serious knee injuries that caused them to miss the entire 2021 season before it even began. Unfortunately, neither has been able to stay on the field following their initial respective returns to action.
Edwards went back on the shelf for a couple of games after making his 2022 debut in Week 7 before suffering a hamstring injury in the following game on a short week that caused him to miss the next two.
Hopefully, once the Ravens have both of them back at their disposal, they will be able to deploy a healthy and regular rotation that will keep them fresh and evenly distribute the workload.
If the offense can piecemeal a potent rushing attack by spreading the ball around between Dobbins, Edwards, veteran Kenyan Drake who has stepped up well at times this season, and quarterback Lamar Jackson, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with down the stretch and in the postseason as their passing game continues to work out some kinks.
Lamar Jackson Quitely Had an Excellent Passing Outing in Week 12
Despite overthrowing a pair of passes that could’ve gone for touchdowns, the Ravens’ star signal caller actually had a highly efficient performance throwing the ball in the team’s narrow loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday, November 27, 2022. His passing grade of 89.6 from Pro Football Focus was the highest among all quarterbacks in Week 12 and marked the fourth-best of his career.
Lamar Jackson had an 89.6 passing grade vs the Jaguars:
⚫️ best among QBs in Week 12
🟣 fourth best of his career
Even though he only completed 50% of his passes, Jackson still managed to throw for 254 yards and a touchdown with no interception and a passer rating of 87.2 and made some very impressive throws down the field and at the intermediate level.
His best throw of the game came on a 62-yard bomb that he uncorked and perfectly placed in the bread basket of veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson in the fourth quarter. It came on their second-to-last possession of the game after the Jaguars took a one-point lead and dug the Ravens out of a second-and-20 from their own 15-yard line.
“Yes, it was great,” Harbaugh said. “He had a nice, deep out route, timing route, and Lamar threw a strike right on the sideline. It was a big chunk play for us. And then the deep over route, the line route, as we call it, that was a great play. It came open beautifully, [and] Lamar threw a strike. Those were helpful plays for us. If he can kind of keep coming like that, I think that will be helpful to us, big time.”
Jackson reached the third-fastest speed by a ball carrier of the season on the route according to Next Gen Stats when he clocked in at 21.72 miles per hour. Not only was it the fastest time clocked by a Raven this year, but it was also the fastest by any wide receiver in the league this year. The recently turned 36-year-old proved that he can still take the top off of opposing defenses and provide the vertical threat they’ve been missing with second-year pro Rashod Bateman elected to undergo season-ending foot surgery.
💨 @DeSeanJackson10 still got those wheels.
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The Ravens’ wide receiving core actually holds the top three fastest marks by wideouts this year. Third-year pro Devin Duvernay hit the second fastest in Week 2 when he clocked in at 21.6 mph on the opening kickoff of the game 103 yards for the first kick return touchdown of the season. Bateman recorded the third fastest in the same game when he clocked in at 21.48 mph on a slant that he took 75 yards for a score.