In an NFL season when nothing is normal, the Baltimore Ravens have quietly piled up a number of key injuries. Going into Week 10’s game against the New England Patriots they will be without left tackle Ronnie Stanley, defensive tackle Calais Campbell, and three of the seven cornerbacks the Ravens have used in the rotation this season.
Injuries are a part of the sport but it doesn’t make them any easier to replace. Baltimore was able to steer clear of the injury bug in 2019 and it allowed them to cruise through the regular season with no problems. Now in 2020, their job has become a lot tougher. During Baltimore’s Week 9 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens were without their top offensive lineman, defensive lineman, linebacker, and defensive back after the conclusion of the first quarter. Head coach John Harbaugh‘s team is perhaps the most complete roster in the NFL but all the losses have begun to pile up.
With all the important Ravens players out of the lineup, Harbaugh will likely turn to a number of new faces to fill those holes. General manager Eric DeCosta has been busy on the open market over the past few weeks trading for Yannick Ngakoue while signing two former-Pro Bowlers in veterans Dez Bryant and Tramon Williams.
Baltimore has never been a team whose play slipped in wake of injury and they are going to have to repeat that feat if they want to remain in the AFC North and Super Bowl hunt. These are three players who could be looked at to elevate their games due to the number of Ravens key injuries.
Baltimore Ravens Injuries: Three Players Who Need to Step Up
Terrell Bonds – Cornerback
Cornerback has easily been the most tested position on the Ravens roster to this point in the season. Coming into the year, Baltimore’s secondary was perhaps the deepest position group in the entire NFL. In last Sunday’s game against the Colts, only two of their cornerbacks, Jimmy Smith and Marcus Peters were on the 53-man roster to begin the year. Marlon Humphrey will return from the COVID-IR for the Ravens against the Patriots but there is still cause for concern.
Bonds seems like the most likely player to be thrust into a larger role in the near future. He also might not have a choice in the matter. Don Martindale‘s gameplan coming into the season was likely to operate Anthony Averett as the team’s fifth corner. Instead, Averett has missed the past two games due to a shoulder injury. Now his responsibilities will mostly be transferred to Bonds.
Bonds saw the first action of his NFL career in Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers but had a far expanded role in his first NFL start the following week. He played 87 percent of the defensive snaps against the Colts and was targetted 10 times — giving up six receptions for 63 yards. Through two games he has allowed a passer rating of 87.7. Bonds also dropped a near interception off the hands of Colts wide receiver Marcus Johnson.
The numbers aren’t great for Bonds early in his Ravens tenure but he will still have an important role until Averett is back healthy. Martindale is a big fan of rotating corners and he will likely be looking for a player to help ease the workload of Jimmy Smith. Smith is 32 years old and is on pace to play the most snaps of his career since 2015.
D.J. Fluker – Offensive Tackle
There has been no bigger loss for the Ravens in 2020 than Ronnie Stanley. The Ravens newly paid left tackle exited Baltimore’s game against Pittsburgh with an ankle injury before being ruled out for the remainder of the season later in the day. Orlando Brown Jr. took his place as Lamar Jackson‘s blindside tackle for the remainder of the game. Brown had started the previous 32 straight games at right tackle but will now vacate the position to Fluker.
Fluker was drafted 11th overall by the San Diego Chargers and played two seasons at right tackle in 2013 and 2014. Since then, he has spent the majority of his time playing right guard for multiple teams. Fluker will now presumably be the Ravens starting right tackle for the remainder of the year.
On 207 snaps so far this season, Fluker has held his own. He has taken a less than stellar three penalties in parts of four games while allowing one sack. His ability in both pass and run protection could use some fine-tuning but that’s to be expected from a player who has not been a consistent starter at his current position in over half a decade.
Fluker also owes it to his team to find consistency. Replacing Marshal Yanda has proved to be an incredibly tough task and now that his initial replacement, rookie Tyre Phillips, has been placed on injured reserve, Baltimore will need to rely on even more depth to play at an incredibly high level. The offensive line was one of the biggest reasons the Ravens had so much success in 2019 and they have not played up to that standard yet in 2020.
Justin Madubuike – Defensive Line
Since acquiring Calais Campbell in the off-season, he has become a mainstay in the Ravens defense and debatably their best overall player altogether. His 4.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss lead the team while his six pass defenses are tied for the team lead as well. Campbell’s return date is still unknown but the Ravens likely will not try and rush him back.
Replacing Campbell’s 6’8″, 300 pound-sized hole may not be easy but his starting place should be passed on to rookie third-round pick Justin Madubuike. Madubuike saw his first bit of NFL action during the Ravens Week 5 game against the Cincinnati Bengals and has since played a total of 97 defensive snaps over the past four games. He has registered eight combined tackles and one quarterback hit during that span.
In College, Madubuike was known as a fairly twitched up defender. His explosiveness made him a threat from multiple places on the Texas A&M defensive line and will likely need to exercise that flexibility if he is to even partially help fill Campbell’s shoes. He will likely fit in better on passing downs but could see extra usage if some of the other Ravens defensive linemen need some rest. Madubuike finished his college career posting 22.0 tackles for loss and 11.0 sacks in his last two seasons.
Replacing Campbell is not a one-person job. Madubuike should likely have his role expanded the most but players like Justin Ellis and fellow rookie Broderick Washington could each see additional playing time. The two have played a combined 194 defensive snaps this season. Martindale will likely use all three of these players in the defensive line rotation as early as this coming week.
