On the night when the Ravens won their league-record 22nd consecutive preseason game, their biggest victory was seemingly avoiding a major injury to one of their most talented rookies.
Third-round defensive tackle Travis Jones sustained a hyperextended knee during Arizona quarterback Trace McSorley’s 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter and didn’t return, but the Connecticut product will not be out “an extended period of time,” according to head coach John Harbaugh. It’s unclear how much action Jones will miss beyond Saturday’s preseason finale against Washington, but the Baltimore defense appeared to dodge a bullet when reserve safety Geno Stone lunged into Jones’ left leg attempting to make a tackle at the goal line.
Jones was eventually able to walk off the field and enter the blue medical tent on the sideline before officially being listed as questionable to return.
“It’s a little early. He had kind of a hyperextension there, so I think he will be out for a little while,” Harbaugh said. “He’ll be out for the rest of the preseason as far as I’m concerned. Then, we’ll just see how it goes the rest of the way. He’s had a good preseason, worked really hard. He got tangled up in a pile there; it happens sometimes unfortunately. But it’s not a serious injury.”
Though he didn’t show up on the official stat sheet in his 27 defensive snaps and drew a roughing the passer flag early in the second quarter of the 24-17 win over the Cardinals, the 6-foot-4, 327-pound defensive tackle has been the Ravens’ most impressive defensive rookie during training camp practices, regularly disrupting the pocket and drawing praise from veteran teammates and coaches. Jones is expected to be an important member of the rotation as a rookie, so new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald will hope he doesn’t miss too much time.
Jones wasn’t the only injury scare Sunday night as offensive tackle Daniel Faalele had his right leg rolled up early in the second quarter, but the massive fourth-round rookie was able to return.
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Second-year running back Nate McCrary exited with a knee injury and didn’t return.
Most starters sit again
After holding out all but three projected offensive and defensive starters in the preseason opener, Harbaugh sat all but four Sunday night with outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, fullback Patrick Ricard, and guard Ben Powers each playing 16 or fewer snaps against the Cardinals.
Madubuike, Ricard, cornerbacks Kyle Fuller and Brandon Stephens, and tight end Nick Boyle were the most notable players to play against Arizona after sitting out the Tennessee win. Nose tackle Michael Pierce was held out against the Cardinals after playing seven snaps against the Titans.
The following offensive players on the 85-man roster didn’t play in Arizona: quarterback Lamar Jackson; running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards; tight ends Mark Andrews and Charlie Kolar; wide receivers Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, James Proche, Tylan Wallace, and Slade Bolden; offensive tackles Ronnie Stanley and Morgan Moses, center Tyler Linderbaum, and right guard Kevin Zeitler. Defensive playears sitting out included Pierce; defensive end Calais Campbell; inside linebackers Patrick Queen and Josh Bynes; outside linebackers Tyus Bowser, Justin Houston, and David Ojabo; cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, and Jalyn Armour-Davis; and safeties Marcus Williams and Chuck Clark.
