Rookie free safety Matt Elam took criticism from Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers Sunday following a low tackle to Green Bay wide receiver Randall Cobb that resulted in a broken fibula for the talented wideout.
With the league trying to eliminate blows to the heads of “defenseless” players, there has been a growing fear of more low — but still legal — hits like the one delivered to Dolphins tight end Dustin Keller in the preseason that resulted in a catastrophic season-ending knee injury. However, Harbaugh didn’t see anything questionable about the hit delivered by Elam.
“I think Matt made a tackle. He was scrambling to catch up with that route as best he could to make the tackle,” Harbaugh said. “To say that it could have been more artistically palatable is pretty hard for me to understand. That’s a fast route; they ran a very good route there. Aaron made a good quick throw in there, and Matt did the best he could to try and stop that play. I have no idea what [Rodgers’] talking about.”
Cobb is reportedly expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks.
Clean injury report
Harbaugh confirmed Monday that the Ravens reported no new injuries following their Week 6 loss to Green Bay.
Asked about cornerback Lardarius Webb, who took a knee to the helmet at one point during the game, Harbaugh was unaware of any concerns over the fifth-year defensive back.
“Injury-wise, everybody finished the game,” Harbaugh said. “[There’s] nothing new to report there. We may have some more information on Wednesday — we’ll see — but we didn’t have anything major, injury-wise, happen to us in the game, so that’s a plus.”
According to the head coach, former starting left tackle Bryant McKinnie was a healthy scratch on Sunday despite lingering swelling in his knee. The Ravens elected to use backup tackle Rick Wagner in their jumbo run package as a tackle-eligible blocker for seven offensive snaps.
Veteran wide receiver Brandon Stokley was deemed a game-time scratch as the Ravens elected to go with their other five healthy wide receivers based on the matchups against the Green Bay defense. Harbaugh was unclear in his assessment but suggested that Stokley still isn’t 100 percent from a lingering groin issue that prompted the Ravens to release him the day before their Week 5 win in Miami before re-signing him last week.
