After undergoing an arthroscopic procedure to remove scar tissue in his surgically repaired left knee in late October, Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins will return to practice this week.
On Monday, head coach John Harbaugh said Dobbins would be designated to return from injured reserve to begin practicing “to some degree” this week, which will start a 21-day window in which he can take part in workouts without counting against the 53-man roster. Considering the careful ramp-up period the Ravens have used with players returning from significant injuries — including Dobbins over the summer — this season, the third-year running back appears unlikely to play in Sunday’s game against Denver, but Dobbins will try to offer more upside for Baltimore’s ground game down the stretch.
Returning from ACL, LCL, meniscus, and hamstring tears that cost him the entire 2021 campaign, Dobbins appeared in four games earlier this season and averaged 3.5 yards per carry before deciding to undergo a procedure to help improve the range of motion in his knee.
“I would characterize J.K.’s surgery as a smashing success as far as you can tell right now,” Harbaugh said in early November. “He came out of it. He has no additional scar tissue since he has come out of there. That was a key thing in the first couple days — does scar tissue start to accumulate? It did not. They got almost all of it out, and it was significant. When they went in, [Dr.] Leigh Ann Curl did the surgery and she told me when she went in there [that] the MRI didn’t tell the whole story. You like to think it does, [but] until you go in there, you really don’t know what you have. The MRI didn’t see all the scar tissue that was in there, so what he was dealing with was very significant. For him to get that freed up, I can’t wait until he’s out here running around in three or four weeks.”
Despite ranking second in the NFL in rushing yards per game and third in yards per carry, the Ravens have yet to play a game this season with both Dobbins and Gus Edwards on the field. The two helped lead Baltimore to a 3,000-yard rushing season in 2020, the last time both were fully healthy.
Designated to return from IR last week, safety Marcus Williams is also expected to continue practicing this week, but it’s unclear when he’ll return to game action for the first time since dislocating his left wrist in the Week 5 win over Cincinnati. Williams wore a splint on his wrist for practices open to media last week.
Play clock woes continue
There’s been plenty of discussion about the difficulties managing the play clock this week in the aftermath of last Sunday’s 28-27 loss to Jacksonville as the Ravens suffered another delay of game penalty in the first half and were up against the clock a number of other times.
Harbaugh said Monday that offensive coordinator Greg Roman admitted he needed to call plays faster, and the Ravens did appear to have fewer pacing problems after halftime. Of course, this problem is nothing new with Roman’s offense always operating at a slower pace compared to the league average, but it’s magnified with the Ravens having scored a touchdown on just 42.4% of their trips inside the red zone over the last eight games and mostly struggling in the passing game since the first few weeks of the season.
The Ravens have already suffered a league-high seven delay of game penalties this season after committing eight in 2021, three in 2020, and five in 2019. That doesn’t account for the many close calls and instances in which the offense is rushing to snap the ball on time either.
In addition to considering the variables of Roman calling the plays, quarterback Lamar Jackson relaying them in the huddle, and the verbiage of the offense itself, observers can see every week how often Baltimore substitutes between plays with it not being uncommon for most active skill players to take part in a single drive. That coupled with the frequent shifting and motion the Ravens use before the snap can lead to the pace and rhythm of the offense getting bogged down, but that can’t be an excuse this deep into Roman’s tenure.
“We just have to adjust as coaches on that. It’s up to us to organize it in a way that we just don’t get in those situations,” Harbaugh said. “If we have to have less offense or less movements in the plays or whatever it might be, that’s just what you do. It’s on us. That’s something we have to get cleaned up.”
The clock is ticking to do that.
Former longtime Raven joining Kansas City
Many assumed the career of defensive tackle Brandon Williams was over when the longtime nose tackle’s contract expired in March and there was virtually no chatter regarding his future, but he’s apparently joining another AFC contender.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 33-year-old who spent nine seasons in Baltimore will sign to Kansas City’s practice squad with designs of moving up to the active roster. Currently holding the best record in the conference, the Chiefs rank fifth in rushing yards per game allowed and 14th in yards per carry allowed this season, but Williams would be joining former Ravens defensive line coach Joe Cullen and Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who was a Baltimore assistant over the nose tackle’s first two NFL seasons.
Williams is a Missouri native who grew up a few hours from Kansas City and will now try to follow in the footsteps of former Ravens teammate and friend Terrell Suggs, who landed with the Chiefs late in the 2019 season and won a Super Bowl.
Despite losing starting nose tackle Michael Pierce to a season-ending biceps injury in Week 3, the Ravens haven’t missed Williams this season as they currently rank second in rushing yards per game allowed and third in yards per carry allowed. Baltimore has allowed 3.2 yards per carry or less in each of the last four contests.
