Getty Nick Boyle leaves the game with a knee injury.
The Baltimore Ravens are starting to have a rough time of it in 2020 in terms of injuries, and their latest victim is a critical one for the offense.
In the second half with the Ravens down 23-10, Lamar Jackson fired a pass to tight end Nick Boyle. The wideout went down awkwardly and was sandwiched between a few New England defenders. It wrenched his knee in an awful way and Boyle quickly left the game with injury.
Here’s a look at the gruesome looking play. Viewer discretion advised:
Terrible Nick Boyle injury
Losing Boyle will be a tough blow for the Ravens given the fact that he is one of the toughest players on the field and a player who is huge in the passing game as well as the blocking game in terms of toughness. Obviously, it’s early to speculate on the injury’s nature, but it’s clear this wasn’t a good one given the Patriots players called for the trainer immediately and the cart had to be brought out.
Nick Boyle Stats
There might be a temptation to say that Boyle doesn’t make a huge impact on the Ravens given his modest stat line but that is assuredly not the case. With just 964 receiving yards and 4 scores in his career, Boyle hasn’t seen the ball a ton but has made his mark with team leadership and toughness. A 5th round pick in 2015 out of Delaware, Boyle has earned the respect of his teammates and opponents alike for his toughness in the trenches and his excellent blocking.
Ravens Tight End Depth Stretched Thin
The Ravens had one of the top offenses in the league during the 2019 season, but to say things haven’t played out nearly as well in 2020 would be an understatement. The team has struggled to look as potent at times, and it seems the league overall has a better feel of how to defend quarterback Lamar Jackson. The Ravens themselves have struggled with a lack of big plays from their wideouts, and while tight end Mark Andrews has delivered at tight end, it’s clear the team is missing something there as well. Willson could potentially fill that void for Baltimore down the stretch.
Back near the NFL trade deadline on November 3, rumors persisted that the Ravens were big game hunting on offense, notably at tight end. Philadelphia Eagles star Zach Ertz surfaced as a possible target, but no move there was made. The team ended up adding free agent wideout Dez Bryant to the roster, but did not make a move at tight end. It’s possible a lower cost veteran option like Luke Willson could play a role in Baltimore filling this key void on the current roster.
Should he sign with the Ravens, it would be easy to see Willson playing the H-back role for the team and fitting in well as a blocker. Given this potentially rough injury to Boyle, that might be the direction the team has to look now.
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