The Baltimore Ravens have been one of the more cursed teams in recent NFL history when it comes to injuries. In recent years, Baltimore has regularly put a large number of players on injured reserve and seen plenty of starters go down with injuries.
The Ravens are hoping the 2019 season will be different and far healthier. But in the second week of OTAs, that hasn’t quite been the case. On Thursday when the media was permitted to see practice, Baltimore was missing 15 players.
While not every player missing was due to injury and OTA practices are voluntary, it is something worthy of noting. Several of the players missing practice are expected to provide a major impact in 2019.
At least five of the 15 missing players are currently inked in as starters, with several others like cornerback Brandon Carr and outside linebacker Pernell McPhee expected to be big contributors in rotational roles. Among the injured are two of Baltimore’s 2019 NFL draft picks. First-round pick Marquise Brown is still out following surgery to fix his Lisfranc injury. Third-round pick Miles Boykin has been dealing with a hamstring injury.
Over the last five years, the Ravens have sent a total of 93 players to injured reserve for an average of nearly 19 players per year. It’s a total Baltimore will need to see quickly decrease if they wish to have continued success. The Ravens had some luck last year, seeing only 16 players head to injured reserve with no key starters missing extended time outside of quarterback Joe Flacco.
Though Baltimore has a long list of players missing in OTAs, the hope is the time off to properly rehab their injuries makes way to a far healthier team when things actually matter. We’ll have a far better idea of how serious current injuries are once the Ravens start training camp later this summer.
