With the Ravens beginning full-squad workouts in just two weeks, we’ll soon gain a better idea of where players coming back from injuries stand for the start of the 2022 regular season.
It’s no secret that the Ravens don’t say much about rehabbing players even during the offseason, which is both strategic and a reality of the unknown that comes with recovery. Players are “making progress” and “on schedule” until they aren’t anymore, which is why we should take any comments from general manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh with a grain of salt.
Thankfully, career-ending injuries are rare with continued advances in modern medicine, but we still underestimate the difference between being healthy enough to play and recovered enough to thrive, especially in the NFL. We remember Ravens Ring of Honor member Jamal Lewis returning from a 2001 torn ACL and looking better than ever, rushing for more than 3,300 yards over the next two seasons. But there are also cases like Lardarius Webb, who never again played like the ascending fringe Pro Bowl cornerback he was before a 2012 ACL injury despite playing several more years.
There’s a wide range of outcomes that comes with a player making his return to practice and live-game action with tight end Nick Boyle being a perfect example last year. Having suffered a severe left knee injury in November 2020 that required multiple surgeries, Boyle returned to practice last October and game action last November, but he was never right in limited action over five games. He and the Ravens hope being another year removed from the injury will allow him to regain his place as one of the league’s best blocking tight ends, but you never know for sure with serious injuries.
Several players sidelined for extended periods last year have already returned to the field with Boyle, quarterback Lamar Jackson (ankle), cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey (pectoral), and running back Justice Hill (Achilles tendon) participating in at least a portion of spring workouts. Of course, the severity of their injuries varied and we could still see workload management for someone like Boyle, but there’s little reason to believe these individuals won’t be available for the first day of training camp.
Listed in order of importance to the 2022 season, below is a look at Ravens players returning from season-ending injuries who weren’t yet taking part in on-field workouts during the spring:
LT Ronnie Stanley (ankle)
Week 1 age: 28
Date of injury: Nov. 1, 2020
Skinny: The 2019 All-Pro selection returned to practice last August and played all 68 offensive snaps in the Week 1 loss at Las Vegas before being shut down and undergoing another left ankle surgery last October, leaving a massive hole on the offensive line for the remainder of 2021. Harbaugh said Stanley’s ankle was “looking great” last month, but the Ravens also sounded pretty optimistic last year and substantial unknown remains for someone who’s missed 28 games over the last two seasons. Baltimore is often conservative at the start of camp and won’t hesitate to make use of the active physically unable to perform list for anyone in question, but any player missing as much football as Stanley over the last two years is going to need some extensive practice time even if Harbaugh keeps his veterans out of preseason games. Recent projections of the Ravens having a top 10-caliber offensive line all depend on Stanley returning and looking at least close to the left tackle that received a $98.75 million deal two days before the injury. Otherwise, the other additions to the offensive line will only go so far.
CB Marcus Peters (knee)
Week 1 age: 29
Date of injury: Sept. 9, 2021
Skinny: The timing of the three-time Pro Bowl selection’s ACL injury was devastating for a defense that fell apart in 2021, but it also allowed extensive time for recovery, a plus for his 2022 outlook. Peters has alluded to not being in a rush to force his way back onto the field for the first day of training camp, which makes sense for someone so experienced and important to Mike Macdonald’s defense. However, Peters is turning 30 in January, entering the final year of his contract, and returning from the first serious injury of his career, which will create more urgency for him to get off to a good start and have his best possible season. The free-agent addition of Kyle Fuller and fourth-round selection of Jalyn Armour-Davis put the outside corner depth in better shape, but a healthy and dynamic Peters raises both the floor and ceiling of a revamped secondary.
OLB Tyus Bowser (Achilles tendon)
Week 1 age: 27
Date of injury: Jan. 9, 2022
Skinny: Given his shorter rehab timeline than most of the names on this list, Bowser is the perfect example of the difference between being healthy enough to play and being recovered enough to excel. We all remember Terrell Suggs returning from a torn Achilles in a short five months a decade ago, but he registered just four sacks in 12 games including the playoffs that season and didn’t return to pre-injury form until the following year. Though DeCosta and Harbaugh have expressed optimism about Bowser being ready to go by Week 1, you have to wonder how close the 2017 second-round pick will be to himself early on, which could exacerbate depth concerns at outside linebacker. Even if Bowser is indeed ready for the opener, you probably wouldn’t expect to see him on the practice field until a little later in the summer.
RB J.K. Dobbins (knee)
Week 1 age: 23
Date of injury: Aug. 28, 2021
Skinny: Whether Harbaugh acknowledging the timetable being “a little tougher” for his running backs was any kind of a tell remains to be seen, but Dobbins will be 11 full months removed from his ACL injury by the open of full-squad workouts, which aids in the quest to be ready for Week 1. Though the 2020 second-round pick watched from the sideline on occasion and did some stationary work catching passes on the Jugs machine in the spring, Harbaugh said in mid-June that Dobbins had “work to do still” despite his strong desire to be back on the field. His 6.0 yards per carry average as a rookie two years ago has led some to predict a breakout season for a second straight summer, but there’s so little on which to make a forecast when the full extent of his injury was never confirmed. That’s not to say Dobbins won’t have a strong 2022 season, but everyone envisions their back returning like Adrian Peterson when there are many more middling examples like Saquon Barkley a year ago.
RB Gus Edwards (knee)
Week 1 age: 27
Date of injury: Sept. 9, 2021
Skinny: Much of what was said about Dobbins applies to Edwards, who tore his ACL less than two weeks later. An argument could be made that his more physical, downhill rushing style might play a little better while returning to pre-injury form, but you’d expect the Ravens to slow play both backs, whether that means placing them on the active PUP list and holding them out until some time in August or at least limiting their reps early in camp.
OLB David Ojabo (Achilles tendon)
Week 1 age: 22
Date of injury: March 18, 2022
Skinny: After tearing his Achilles during his Pro Day at Michigan and falling to the Ravens in the second round of the draft as a result, Ojabo is the only name on this list you can safely rule out for the start of camp. The bigger question will be whether he begins the regular season on the non-football injury list — which would sideline him until at least late October — or Baltimore leaves the door open for an earlier debut. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound edge rusher has significant upside, but 2022 expectations need to be realistic for someone who was considered a raw prospect in need of development even before a major injury. Though anything the Ravens get out of Ojabo as a rookie is a plus, they’re optimistic about him playing at some point this year.
S Ar’Darius Washington (foot)
Week 1 age: 22
Date of injury: Nov. 24, 2021
Skinny: With local media having a limited number of injury question bullets to fire at a tight-lipped organization, we haven’t gotten an update on Washington since he broke his foot last fall. As a result, it’s difficult to speculate about his return timetable, but not being able to take part in spring practices wasn’t an encouraging development for a former rookie free agent competing for a roster spot in a deep position group. Unlike the established veterans, he can’t afford to miss too much time.
