The Ravens are in the midst of their latest bye week in nearly a quarter-century.
Matching the 2000 team for the latest in franchise history by finally receiving Week 14 off, John Harbaugh’s team hopes to enjoy a similar fate to those eventual Super Bowl XXXV champions, who had already begun an 11-game winning streak by early December. The current Ravens envision playing eight more games, which would culminate with a trip to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX. Of course, they won’t have the benefit of a first-round bye and home-field advantage like last year’s team, which also enjoyed a late break in Week 13.
Standing at 8-5 after losing two of the last three games, the Ravens have endured a long grind to reach their first extended break from football since early July. A team with championship aspirations certainly has some issues, ranging from Justin Tucker’s kicking woes and team-wide problems with penalties to persistent concerns about the offensive line’s ability to hold up against elite competition.
But the good news is the Ravens have made it this far into the season with very few long-term injuries of consequence, which is quite a contrast from some years when multiple impact players are lost before the campaign even begins. When the schedule is released in May, a late bye feels daunting, but it can also facilitate a fresher stretch run if you make it this far with the roster mostly intact.
Given the messy Diontae Johnson saga that’s led to the wide receiver’s one-game suspension and uncertain future, the post-bye health of starting wideout Rashod Bateman has arguably become the most important injury situation to monitor coming out of the bye. Knee soreness sidelined Bateman midway through the third quarter of last Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia and cost him some practice time the week before, but the Ravens hope the time off will do the trick for the 2021 first-round pick who’s in the midst of the best season of his career with 35 catches for 574 yards and and five touchdowns.
“It’s not a long-term thing, so it’s something like all the guys have,” Harbaugh said. “A lot of guys have these kinds of things late in the season. The bye week will really help him. I do believe that.”
Bateman played 29 snaps and wasn’t targeted in the 24-19 loss to the Eagles.
Another starter hoping to be 100% after the bye is 33-year-old outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who missed the Eagles game with hamstring and neck injuries that Harbaugh described as “not major stuff” last week. Van Noy hadn’t missed a game due to injury since Week 2 of the 2021 season when he was inactive for New England because of a throat injury.
The Ravens are expected to welcome back nose tackle Michael Pierce from injured reserve after the bye. The 32-year-old was designated to return to practice last week from a calf injury suffered in late October, but he wasn’t activated in time to play against Philadelphia.
Another defensive lineman who really needed the bye was starter Travis Jones, who’s been playing through an ankle injury suffered against Tampa Bay in Week 7. Though the standout defensive lineman hasn’t missed a game, his ability to handle a full workload and practice has certainly been compromised by the injury.
Earlier this week, defensive coordinator Zach Orr said the 6-foot-4, 338-pound Jones needed the bye more than any other defensive player on the team.
“When he’s healthy [and] when he’s feeling good, he’s going to be dominant,” Orr said. “I can’t wait for him to get some rest and come back out of this bye week feeling really good and get him back playing how he was playing. He’s been playing good, but he’s out there basically on one leg essentially. It’s not as dominant as it’s been, but the bye week is going to do great for him.”
All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton has also been banged up with various ailments this season despite starting every game.
As for others currently on IR, Harbaugh said it’s unclear whether slot cornerback Arthur Maulet will be able to return as he’s dealt with calf, knee, and hamstring injuries going back to training camp. Tight end Charlie Kolar is recovering from a forearm fracture suffered in the Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but he could return in time for the postseason.
Rookie cornerback T.J. Tampa (ankle) was designated to return to practice from IR last week and should be ready to play shortly after the bye.
Despite making his return to game action early last month from a severe knee injury that cut short a fantastic rookie season, running back Keaton Mitchell has made little impact and was a healthy scratch last Sunday. A path to playing time behind AFC leading rusher Derrick Henry and quality backup Justice Hill isn’t easy, of course, but running backs coach Willie Taggart preached patience when it comes to the speedy Mitchell returning to pre-injury form and becoming a factor for a rushing attack already leading the NFL in yards per carry and ranking second in rushing yards per game entering Week 14.
Mitchell averaged an incredible 8.4 yards per carry on 47 rushing attempts as an undrafted rookie out of East Carolina.
“He had a tough injury, and for him to work and get back so fast, it’s impressive by itself, but it also speaks volumes for him and just wanting to be back out there with his teammates to play,” Taggart said. “With Keaton, he understands that he has to continue to get himself back into football shape like he was when he played last year for us and did some extraordinary things for us. As he continues to practice and come along, we’re starting to get the Keaton that we all know.”
