As if suffering one of the worst losses in team history weren’t enough, the Ravens lost another starter to a long-term injury during Sunday’s game.
Defensive end Brent Urban has been diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury in his foot and will undergo surgery, according to head coach John Harbaugh. The 2014 fourth-round pick was injured on the second play of the second quarter in the 44-7 loss to Jacksonville in London and didn’t return.
It’s an ailment that typically sidelines a player for months, meaning Urban will likely become the 16th Baltimore player to land on injured reserve before the calendar even turns to October. This marks the third time in four seasons he’s been sidelined with a long-term injury after he tore his ACL early in his first training camp as a rookie in 2014 and tore his biceps in his second training camp a year later.
He’s appeared in just 25 games over four seasons since being drafted from the University of Virginia.
With Urban out indefinitely, the Ravens will turn to the combination of Bronson Kaufusi and rookie Chris Wormley to pick up the slack at the 5-technique defensive end spot. Replacing free-agent departure Lawrence Guy, Urban had a big preseason and was a major part of the inside pass rush in sub packages as he entered the final year of his rookie contract.
A pair of third-round picks, Kaufusi and Wormley have been inactive for each of the first three games of the season and have yet to play a single NFL snap between them.
“Those guys are ready to go. Kaufusi and Wormley are ready to go,” Harbaugh said. “I am looking forward to seeing them play. We have some depth there. That is the good news about that particular situation. We have a lot of depth in our defensive line; I have been saying it all along. Those guys will be there trying to step up.
“We have had a lot of practice this year of guys stepping up. We are getting good at it now.”
Urban’s injury left the Ravens without two of their three starting defensive linemen Sunday as Brandon Williams was inactive with a foot injury sustained in Week 2. It remains unclear whether Williams will be able to return against Pittsburgh on Sunday.
