The Baltimore Ravens have dealt with quite a few injuries over the course of the last month. They’ve slowly been getting some of their players back, but others haven’t been able to make a full return to the practice field. Baltimore is seemingly taking the cautious approach, which is absolutely the right decision.
When speaking to the media on Monday, head coach John Harbaugh gave injury updates on both tight end Nick Boyle and cornerback Jimmy Smith. It was hoped that both players would be available for the start of the regular season, but that doesn’t appear like it will be the case.
Harbaugh said Nick Boyle will not be ready to start season. So he’ll either start on Pup or Ravens could activate him and move him to IR
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 30, 2021
John Harbaugh on progress of CB Jimmy Smith (ankle sprain): "It turned out to be a little more serious than we initially thought."
Harbaugh is "very hopeful" Smith will practice next week.
"He'll be back, if not next week, very early in the season," Harbaugh said.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) August 30, 2021
Boyle hasn’t practiced since suffering a serious knee injury in the middle of the 2020 season, ending his year. He recently had clean up surgery on the knee, so he was always going to cut it close to being ready for Week 1. With it being announced that Boyle won’t be ready for the opening game, it seems likely that fellow tight end Eric Tomlinson will be on the roster for the beginning of the 2021 season, whether he makes it as one of the final 53 players or is brought back on a handshake agreement after being cut.
Smith suffered an ankle injury early in 2021 training camp, but as Harbaugh noted, the injury has been more serious than anticipated. The team hopes that he will begin practicing next week and there’s still a chance that he plays in the season opener, but he could be held out of the first few games as he gets his conditioning level back up and fully recovers from his ailment.
