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Training camp has been ongoing for less than a week, but it appears some Baltimore Ravens players are already dealing with some minor injuries. On Friday, July 26 head coach John Harbaugh gave an update on veteran OLB Kyle Van Noy after he missed practice.
Harbaugh told reporters, “No, Van Noy had a little issue, a little neck thing he’s dealing with, nothing serious. We just held him out for now.”
That is good news for Ravens’ fans as it was a bit alarming when he was among those players listed as not practicing by the Athletics’ Jeff Zrebiec.
Fantasypros’ Ari Koslow wrote, “He isn’t expected to be sidelined for too long.” Van Noy is one the key veterans that the team will be relying on to carry them to a Super Bowl.
With opening night about 6 weeks away against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Ravens can afford to give Van Noy some time off to make sure he is 100%. The Ravens will be cautious and take their time bringing the veteran back.
OLB Kyle Van Noy Will Be Relied Upon to Provide Pass-Rush
The 2023 Ravens were the best in the league in sacks and Van Noy was a key reason why. The OLB will be entering his 12th season and second with the Ravens, but before 2023 he was bouncing from team to team.
The veteran linebacker remained unsigned during the entirety of the 2023 offseason and training camp. General manager Eric Decosta was able to sign Van Noy to the practice squad in September of the 2023 season and he didn’t make his debut until Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns.
He turned in a resurgent season with the Ravens and set a career high with 9.0 sacks on the vaunted defense. He was the third leading rusher behind superstar DT Justin Madubuike and OLB Jadeveon Clowney.
With Clowney now a member of the Carolina Panthers it was paramount for DeCosta to bring back Van Noy. He returned on a 2-year, $9 million deal that made Ravens’ fans happy.
He will now be the head of a relatively young and inexperienced pass-rush and rookie defensive coordinator Zach Orr will be counting on his leadership. The coaching staff will hope that Van Noy will continue the renaissance he found last season.
The Ravens Could Look to Bring in Another Veteran Rusher
DeCosta may need to repeat his 2023 performance as well and bring in some veteran help along the line. DeCosta did well last season bringing in both Clowney and Van Noy as reinforcements to the defensive line.
The first avenue will be for the team to explore the trade market. They have been listed as a possible location for Randy Gregory from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Matthew Judon from the New England Patriots.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine also suggested that they trade for New York Jets pass-rusher Hasson Reddick, but he is having contract issues for the Jets and the Ravens do not have the cap space to give him a massive contract.
It is more likely that DeCosta scans the free agent market as teams begin to trim their rosters down as the seasons gets closer. However, the desire to bring in viable rushers is not a Ravens exclusive issue, so there will be competition.
With Baltimore only having $5.4 million in cap space, according to OverTheCap, DeCosta will be limited on how much he will be able to offer to veterans.
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