NFL
Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey out for rest of season
In what is perhaps the most devastating loss, the Ravens can now add their star CB to an already long list of injured players.
The Ravens have been dealt yet another injury blow with their star corner back now being rule out for the rest of the season.
Ravens' Marlon Humprhey out for season
On Monday , Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey was diagnosed with a season-ending, right pectoral muscle tear. This marks perhaps the perhaps the biggest loss for the Ravens in what has been a season laden with injury problems. Indeed, Humphrey is the seventh starter to be ruled out for the remainder of the season for the Ravens. At present the Ravens who are 8-4 occupy first place in the AFC North by one game. Humphrey suffered the injury in Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The injury itself occurred when he tried to tackle wide receiver Diontae Johnson before who was on his way to scoring what would be the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh also confirmed that Humphrey will require surgery to repair the torn pectoral muscle. "We'll go on with the guys we've got," Harbaugh said Monday. "We have really good players who can step in and play and be ready to go."
What does Humphrey's injury mean for the Ravens?
With Humphrey now confirmed to be out for the remainder of the campaign, it is clear that the Ravens are in a tight spot. A two-time Pro Bowl cornerback, Humphrey is in reality, a star. Arguably the Ravens' most talented defender and a player known for matching opposing wide receivers toe for toe, Humphrey has made a reputation for himself with his physically aggressive play. To date the former No. 16 pick in 2017, is one of two NFL players with at least 50 passes broken up and 10 forced fumbles. Interestingly, safety Logan Ryan is the other.
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The Ravens injury woes
The Ravens have seen their roster decimated by injuries during the 2021 season. With Humphrey the latest to be placed on injured reserve, the Ravens now have approximately 25% of their salary cap on the IR list which equates to $44.3 million according to ESPN. Of those players, offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley and cornerback Marcus Peters have both suffered season ending injuries.
In four of the last five weeks Baltimore has been forced to place at least one player on the injured reserve list. Humphrey now brings the total number of injured players to 17 on the season for the Ravens. "I mean, we've got a lot of injuries, so we've been dealing with stress all season, and we've still been able to overcome it," Ravens nose tackle Brandon Williams said after Sunday's game. So, that's what we plan on doing. It's a 'next man up' mentality, so the show must go on. We pray that Marlon [Humphrey] makes it back. We pray that everybody who is down right now gets healed up, but we still have games to play. Next week, we have the [Cleveland] Browns, so we have to focus on that."
Where do the Ravens go from here?
Now that Humphrey has been sidelined, the Ravens will most likely turn to Chris Westry to cover the absence, that is of course assuming he is fit to play. Westry did not feature in Sunday's loss due to a thigh injury. At this point the Ravens really have no wiggle room as just last week, all five cornerbacks on the roster failed to participate in at least one training session due to either injury or illness.
Injuries aside, the Ravens will now want to concern themselves with one simple fact: They are currently allowing allowing 272.4 yards passing, which is the second-worst in the NFL. As they prepare to close out the season against top tier QBs like Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow. Speaking on the injury situation head coach Harbaugh was in no mood for self pity. "These are football problems," he said. "There are people out there facing a lot tougher challenges." Harbaugh was also asked about the controversial moment when the Ravens attempted to make a 2-point conversion. The Steelers' defense appeared to line up offside and in the end the Ravens were unsuccessful. "I haven't heard anything from the league," Harbaugh said. "You'd like when a guy is lined up that far in the neutral zone, you certainly expect that to be called."
With 12 seconds on the clock, Ravens' quarterback Lamar Jackson's tried to pass on the 2-point conversion only to see the ball deflect off of the outstretched hand of tight end Mark Andrews. The Ravens lost the game by 1 point.