Needing a win over last-place Cleveland on Saturday to clinch a second straight AFC North championship and a first-round home playoff game, the Ravens should be close to full strength.
Though four players missed Tuesday’s practice due to illness, reserve cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring) was the only player to sit out solely because of an injury. After missing the Week 17 win at Houston with concussions, running back Justice Hill and wide receiver Nelson Agholor are expected to return to play against the Browns in the regular-season finale.
The lack of injuries has been a familiar theme for the playoff-bound Ravens, who have remained as healthy as they’ve been for any season in recent memory. Of course, they hope not to jinx that as the playoffs begin next week.
“Up to this point, we’re really happy where we’re at with that,” said head coach John Harbaugh about the team’s overall health entering Week 18. “I do think a lot of work has gone into it. You have to give the players a lot of credit too for the work they’ve put in, and then all of the people involved in that have done a great job. But it’s definitely fueled our success for sure. It’s something that’s a big deal in the National Football League. We’re happy with it, but hopefully we can keep it going here.”
One of the few notable players to spend time on injured reserve this season, No. 3 tight end Charlie Kolar was designated to return to practice on Monday. Kolar suffered a fracture forearm in the Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Chargers and missed the minimum four games before being designated. He was listed as a full practice participant on Tuesday, keeping him on track for a Week 18 activation.
Baltimore has just six other players on IR: cornerback Arthur Maulet, return specialist and wide receiver Deonte Harty, outside linebacker Malik Hamm, running back Owen Wright, and cornerbacks Trayvon Mullen and Christian Matthew. At this point last season, Baltimore players on IR included tight end Mark Andrews, running backs J.K. Dobbins and Keaton Mitchell, outside linebackers Tyus Bowser and David Ojabo, return specialist Devin Duvernay, and defensive back Ar’Darius Washington, but Andrews, Duvernay, and Washington were able to return during the postseason.
Meanwhile, the Browns haven’t announced their starting quarterback, but head coach Kevin Stefanski will decide between Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe and left open the possibility of playing both. Veteran Jameis Winston (right shoulder) is expected to serve as the emergency No. 3 quarterback, which only reinforces the absence of any urgency for the 3-13 Browns to win their season finale. Winston threw three touchdowns in Cleveland’s upset win over Baltimore in Week 8.
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Five Browns starters missed practice Tuesday, a group headlined by reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett (thigh) and three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward (shoulder)
The Browns have 20 players on IR.
Below is Tuesday’s full injury report:
BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: CB Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring), RB Justice Hill (concussion/illness), DT Nnamdi Madubuike (illness), G Patrick Mekari (illness), OT Ronnie Stanley (illness)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: RB Rasheen Ali (hip)
FULL PARTICIPATION: WR Nelson Agholor (concussion), TE Charlie Kolar (forearm)
CLEVELAND
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: RB Jerome Ford (ankle), DE Myles Garrett (thigh), LB Jordan Hicks (concussion), TE David Njoku (knee), RB Pierre Strong (concussion), DE Cameron Thomas (back), CB Denzel Ward (shoulder)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: S Grant Delpit (shoulder/knee), DE Ogbo Okoronkwo (knee), QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (calf), TE Blake Whiteheart (knee), QB Jameis Winston (right shoulder), WR Michael Woods (knee)
FULL PARTICIPATION: LB Devin Bush (elbow), OT Germain Ifedi (Achilles), WR Jerry Jeudy (knee)
Jackson, Linderbaum receive local media honors
A strong candidate to win his third NFL MVP with the finest season of his seven-year career, superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson unsurprisingly received a team honor on Tuesday.
8As voted by local reporters and the Baltimore chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America, the 27-year-old was named Ravens MVP for the fourth time in his career, the most by any player since the honor was introduced in 2003. Jackson is just 45 passing yards away from the first 4,000-yard season of his career and has thrown a franchise-record 39 touchdowns compared to just four interceptions. He also leads the league in yards per carry (6.6) and currently holds the second-highest single-season passer rating in NFL history (121.6).
Center Tyler Linderbaum was voted as the local media “Good Guy” in recognition of going above and beyond league requirements to make himself available to reporters and provide insight during the 2024 season.
Below is a history of the Ravens MVP and “Good Guy” selections (in that order):
2003: Jamal Lewis, Gary Baxter
2004: Ed Reed, Anthony Weaver
2005: Adalius Thomas, Jamal Lewis
2006: Steve McNair, Bart Scott
2007: Willis McGahee, Derrick Mason
2008: Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs
2009: Ray Rice, Jarret Johnson
2010: Haloti Ngata, Chris Carr
2011: Ray Rice, Bernard Pollard
2012: Ray Rice, Arthur Jones
2013: Justin Tucker, Joe Flacco
2014: Justin Forsett, Torrey Smith
2015: Marshal Yanda, Jimmy Smith
2016: Justin Tucker, Zachary Orr
2017: Terrell Suggs, Eric Weddle
2018: Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Carr
2019: Lamar Jackson, Orlando Brown Jr.
2020: Lamar Jackson, no Good Guy winner due to pandemic media restrictions
2021: Mark Andrews, Mark Andrews
2022: Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen
2023: Lamar Jackson, Kyle Hamilton
