The Baltimore Ravens have had plenty of injury problems so far during 2021, but none of them had been season-ending. That all reportedly changed in Week 2 of the preseason against the Carolina Panthers, as inside linebacker L.J. Fort went down with a knee injury in the first half.
After the game, head coach John Harbaugh offered a grim injury update on Fort, saying that things didn’t look good. On Sunday, those fears were confirmed, as it was reported that the linebacker tore his ACL, effectively ending his season.
#Ravens LB L.J. Fort suffered a torn ACL Saturday against the Panthers, per source. Starting linebacker gets his first major injury of a nine-year career. Will wait for swelling to subside before surgery coming.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 22, 2021
#Ravens LB LJ Fort did, in fact, tear his ACL, source said following the MRI. He’s out for the season, but should be able to make a full recovery next season. It was a clean tear, no other damage.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 22, 2021
Fort is a big loss for Baltimore’s defense. In his first two years with the Ravens, the linebacker accumulated 88 total tackles and two sacks. He was a big contributor on both defense and special teams, so Baltimore will feel his loss on multiple units.
The veteran’s injury opens up more playing time for linebackers such as Malik Harrison, Chris Board, Otaro Alaka and Kristian Welch. The Ravens could also opt to bring in a player from outside the organization to soften the blow of losing Fort, including K.J. Wright or a familiar face in Patrick Onwuasor.
