Getty Baltimore Ravens CB Marcus Peters.
The NFL season is about to kick-off and the Baltimore Ravens have already had a year’s worth of bad news before playing a game. They recently lost running back J.K. Dobbins for the season to a torn ACL and things are just getting worse. Backup running back Justice Hill is also down for the year with a torn ACL.
Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there for the Ravens. On Thursday, a third running back in Gus Edwards may have torn his ACL, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Not only that, but Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters hurt himself on the very next play in practice and it could also be a torn ACL.
From NFL Kickoff Early Edition: The #Ravens likely lost two more stars for the season, as RB Gus Edwards and CB Marcus Peters are feared to have torn their ACLs in practice today.
It’s just a brutal stretch of injuries for Baltimore, who are set to travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders on Monday Night Football to start the season. There’s a possibility that the injuries to Edwards and Peters aren’t as bad as the team fears but things aren’t looking good. The Ravens are widely considered Super Bowl contenders but could be in serious trouble if the injuries continue to pile up.
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Josh Jacobs & Richie Incognito Land on Injury Report
The Raiders are fortunate enough to have not suffered any serious injuries to starters quite yet but there’s a bit of concern heading into the opener. Starting left guard Richie Incognito hasn’t practiced in weeks with a calf injury. He also missed practice on Thursday which puts his status against the Ravens in question. He’s a seasoned veteran so practice reps aren’t as important for him but the Raiders haven’t been clear on just how bad his injury is.
The biggest situation to keep an eye on is running back Josh Jacobs. The Raiders’ bell cow has missed practice all week with a toe issue but came back in a limited capacity for Thursday’s practice. That’s a good sign that he’ll be able to play on Monday. Las Vegas will need him if they hope to compete against a stacked Ravens team.
Raiders’ first injury report of the season:
Ravens Could Rely on 2 Former Pro Bowl RBs
The Ravens are having the worst luck possible at running back with the season closing in. That’s a serious problem for this team as they rely on their run game. Baltimore has led the NFL in rushing in each of the last two years. As long as they have Lamar Jackson at quarterback, they should continue to rack up rushing yards but not having their top running backs could really hurt them.
In an effort to try and salvage the running game, the team has signed Le’Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman. Both men have been to multiple Pro Bowls but neither has been to one since 2017. They just joined the team this week so it’s a lot to ask them to be super productive on short notice. While the Ravens should be concerned about their run game, that’s a much easier position to figure out relatively speaking. The biggest loss is losing Peters. He’s one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL and great cornerbacks are almost impossible to find.
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