OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens suffered their first season-ending injury before even taking the field for the first full-team padded practice on Monday morning.
Head coach John Harbaugh announced second-year cornerback Iman Marshall suffered a “major” knee injury over the weekend that’s expected to sideline him for the entire 2020 season. It’s a unfortunate development for the 2019 fourth-round pick from USC who appeared in only three games as a rookie after a summer toe injury landed him on injured reserve for the first half of the season.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound defensive back was competing for a reserve job behind arguably the deepest and most talented secondary in the NFL.
“He had been working hard and practicing well,” Harbaugh said. “He just came down on his right leg really awkwardly and is going to need major surgery. I believe it’s an ACL and MCL.”
Can’t dwell on what already happened just have to keep pushing with God and faith by my side ??
— Faith (@iman_marshall8) August 17, 2020
Marshall wasn’t the only player to sustain an injury before the start of full-contact workouts as veteran wide receiver and special-teams contributor Chris Moore broke a finger last week. That’s a notable development for a wide-open kick returner competition, but the Ravens don’t expect Moore to be out for long.
The fifth-year receiver re-signed on a one-year contract in March and missed two games with a broken thumb last November. It was an injury he was able to manage for the remainder of the 2019 campaign.
“It’s amazing, the same thing happened last year, so Chris knows how to deal with that,” Harbaugh said. “He’ll be fine, but it will be a few weeks until that bone heals.”
Second-year outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson and veteran nose tackle Brandon Williams were also absent from the first full training camp practice due to minor undisclosed ailments.
“He should be back in a couple days at the most. He’s OK — just normal training camp-type stuff,” said Harbaugh about Ferguson. “Brandon Williams, same thing.”
As expected, center Matt Skura practiced on a limited basis after being activated from the physically unable to perform list over the weekend. Skura only did some light individual work before second-year center Patrick Mekari worked with the first-team offensive line during full-team drills, but that was part of the plan.
Skura is less than 10 months removed from tearing multiple ligaments in his left knee, meaning the Ravens will be cautious with an eye toward the season opener on Sept. 13.
“He’s just on a process still right now. He was really good yesterday. I saw the tape and thought he moved well,” Harbaugh said. “Today, we didn’t do a ton with him, but he’s in there and he looks good. I do expect him to be able to be ready for the season, but we’re going to be smart with our process with him and make sure he’s fully ready to go every rep that he takes.”
