{"id":143041,"date":"2023-07-27T14:00:38","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T18:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=143041"},"modified":"2023-07-27T06:51:33","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T10:51:33","slug":"j-k-dobbins-update-john-harbaugh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/07\/27\/j-k-dobbins-update-john-harbaugh\/","title":{"rendered":"John Harbaugh Gives Confusing Update on Star Playmaker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Baltimore Ravens enter training camp with a bit of an injury bug. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman and running back J.K. Dobbins are both on the Physically Unable to Perform list and the latest update gives no clue as to when Dobbins will be back in the lineup.<\/p>\n<h2>John Harbaugh Gives Unhelpful Update on J.K. Dobbins<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking to reporters, Baltimore Ravens head coach gave an incredibly unhelpful update on Dobbins. When asked when the star running back will be back on the field, Harbaugh simply said \u201cthat\u2019s a J.K. question. I wish it was a simple answer. There\u2019s some complexity to it and we\u2019re working through all of that. J.K\u2019s working through it. I\u2019m looking forward to when he\u2019s out there.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Asked about J.K. Dobbins not practicing, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said \u201cI wish there was a simple answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harbaugh said there is no timeline for Dobbins return. Dobbins is currently on PUP. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/okSx3gzxAb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/okSx3gzxAb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jamisonhensley\/status\/1684296527043350528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As you can see, Harbaugh doesn\u2019t exactly sound thrilled with the status of his starting running back. For what it\u2019s worth, this isn\u2019t the first time that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/07\/03\/jk-dobbins-2023-fantasy-football\/\" target=\"_self\">Dobbins\u2019 health updates<\/a> have come as a surprise to the team. He didn\u2019t practice during mandatory minicamp thanks to a knee issue, a setback the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/nfl\/profootballtalk\/rumor-mill\/news\/john-harbaugh-i-expected-j-k-dobbins-to-practice-at-minicamp-but-it-wasnt-in-the-cards\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">team did not expect<\/a>. Evidently, that knee injury is still bothering him and could keep him sidelined for quite some time.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there is a chance that Dobbins is essentially \u201cholding in\u201d for a new contract. The running back has <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/06\/03\/5-trade-destinations-for-star-running-back-jk-dobbins\/\" target=\"_self\">publicly expressed the desire for a new deal<\/a>, and Baltimore doesn\u2019t seem eager to hand out a contract. Given the current state of the running back market and Dobbins\u2019 injury woes over the years, you can see why the Ravens don\u2019t want to pay up.<\/p>\n<p>It is possible that Dobbins is using his knee as an excuse to not risk any additional injury while he waits for a new deal. Whatever the reason is, this update suggests that the Ravens need to prepare for life without Dobbins.<\/p>\n<h3>What Now?<\/h3>\n<p>With Dobbins sidelined, the Baltimore Ravens will likely turn to Gus Edwards to headline their backfield. While he lacks Dobbins\u2019 impressive big-play ability, Edwards has proven himself to be an adequate starter in the past. Throughout the course of his career, the running back has averaged 5.2 yards per attempt on 501 carries. Like Dobbins, injuries have been an issue for Edwards, but he definitely get the job done when on the field.<\/p>\n<p>The rest of the depth chart, however, leaves a lot to be desired. Baltimore recently signed Melvin Gordon, but the former first-round pick was arguably the worst running back in the league last year. That\u2019s not hyperbole either &#8211; his 49.1 PFF grade ranked dead last among all eligible running backs. Justice Hill, meanwhile, is best utilized on special teams and as a change of pace back.<\/p>\n<p>If the J.K. Dobbins situation lasts into the regular season, then the Ravens will need to update their depth chart. While it\u2019s highly unlikely they go after someone like Dalvin Cook, they could easily sign a proven veteran like Kareem Hunt or Ezekiel Elliott. Both players are shells of their former selves, but they can still provide some value as part of a committee.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: Sam Greene &#8211; USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>J.K. Dobbins Injury Update: while speaking to reporters, John Harbaugh gave a frustrating update on his star running back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":143042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[6497,931,7638],"class_list":["post-143041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ravens","tag-j-k-dobbins","tag-john-harbaugh","tag-ravens-featured"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}