The Ravens have lost their safety net at the inside linebacker position with veteran L.J. Fort sustaining a torn ACL in the second quarter of Saturday’s 20-3 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Fort injured his knee while combining to make a tackle with defensive lineman Broderick Washington with just over seven minutes remaining in the second quarter. The 31-year-old limped to the bench and was initially announced as questionable to return, but head coach John Harbaugh painted a gloomy picture for Fort’s prognosis after Baltimore’s record-tying 19th straight preseason victory.
“Unfortunately, it does not look good from what I was told during the game with a knee injury,” Harbaugh said Saturday night. “I think it got stuck in that AstroTurf out there, unfortunately. We’ll get final word probably [Sunday] with an MRI, but L.J. has been playing great, practicing great. He’s been leading our guys. He’s in the weight room every morning at 5:30. It’s going to be an unfortunate injury for him if that’s where it turns out to be.”
Multiple outlets reported the extent of the season-ending injury early Sunday afternoon.
Despite investing first- and fourth-round picks on Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison last season, the Ravens leaned heavily on Fort to be their most dependable inside linebacker as he set career highs in tackles (53) and snaps (381) in 14 games and played well in pass coverage. Pro Football Focus graded Fort ninth among all qualified off-ball linebackers in 2020, play that prompted Baltimore to re-sign him to a one-year, $1.1 million contract after initially making him a salary-cap casualty in March.
It’s no secret the Ravens want to see Queen and Harrison expand and solidify their starting roles in 2021, but the loss of Fort leaves Chris Board as the only reserve inside linebacker who’s played meaningful defensive snaps in the NFL. Kristian Welch and Otaro Alaka are the only other inside linebackers on the current roster, leading one to wonder if general manager Eric DeCosta will seek a veteran depth addition at the position.
In 26 games — 16 of them starts — with the Ravens since 2019, Fort has collected 53 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and three pass breakups.
