OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Overshadowed by the season-ending knee injury suffered by Joe Flacco, Ravens running back Justin Forsett underwent surgery to repair a broken right forearm on Monday.
The 30-year-old suffered fractures to the radius and ulna in the first quarter of Sunday’s 16-13 win over St. Louis, but head coach John Harbaugh doesn’t expect the injury to be a major disruption to Forsett’s preparations for the 2016 season.
“My assumption is that bones heal pretty quickly, so I’m sure he’ll be back in the offseason lifting weights and training,” Harbaugh said. “I would expect Justin back next year full-speed, ready to go. He’s under contract and a big part of what we’re doing going forward.”
Signed through the 2017 season, Forsett is scheduled to make a $3 million base salary and carry a $3.7 million cap figure next season. A reserve journeyman when he was signed by the Ravens, Forsett rushed for a career-high 1,266 yards and eight touchdowns to earn his first trip to the Pro Bowl last season.
In Forsett’s absence, rookie Buck Allen is expected to assume the starting role for the remainder of the season. The fourth-round pick from USC ran for 67 yards on 22 carries and caught five passes for 48 yards against the Rams on Sunday.
Another interesting option in the backfield will be second-year running back and former Towson standout Terrance West, who was initially signed to the practice squad and elevated to the 53-man roster last week. The 2014 third-round pick wore out his welcome in both Cleveland and Tennessee earlier this year, but his decorated career at the FCS level makes him a viable back to evaluate over the final six games of 2015 if he’s willing to put in the work.
“He’ll definitely get an opportunity,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll see as far as activation and depth charts and things like that as we go throughout the course of the week. But he’s practiced well for us since he has been here and is learning the offense. He doesn’t have it all probably 100 percent down right now, but he’s working hard at it. We’ve been impressed with what we’ve seen so far.”
Receiver shuffling
As all attention now falls on the new man who will be delivering the football, the Ravens again shuffled the deck at the wide receiver position by promoting Chuck Jacobs from the practice squad and waiving veteran Joe Morgan on Monday.
“He has been practicing with us and done a really nice job, so we’re excited to add him,” said Harbaugh about Jacobs, who played for Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco. “We let Joe Morgan go to make room on the [roster]. Joe did a good job for us. It just wasn’t working in the plans there for us fit-wise.”
Baltimore also signed Seattle wide receiver Chris Matthews to the practice squad. The 6-foot-5 target has just four career regular-season catches, but he made a name for himself with four receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIX.
Koch short-lived backup
The Ravens were working on signing another quarterback on Monday to back up new starter Matt Schaub, which means punter Sam Koch’s time as the primary backup won’t last long.
When asked if Koch had received any reps as Baltimore’s emergency No. 3 quarterback this season, Harbaugh laughed and insisted he had not. Before the veteran punter, ex-Ravens receiver Anquan Boldin served as the emergency signal-caller from 2010-2012, but he began his college career at Florida State as a quarterback.
“I guess it’s by default like they have the line and everybody steps back,” Harbaugh said. “And Sam was still standing there. That’s how Anquan got it. Anquan actually played in college at least, but Sam can throw.”
