Two rookies will be the only members of the 53-man roster unavailable to the Ravens for their season-opening tilt in Kansas City.
Baltimore officially ruled out third-round outside linebacker Adisa Isaac and listed fifth-round running back Rasheen Ali as doubtful to play against the Chiefs on Thursday night. Tight end Mark Andrews and center Tyler Linderbaum practiced fully all week and aren’t listed on the injury report after missing extensive practice time last month.
After sitting out spring workouts and the start of training camp while rehabbing a hamstring injury, Isaac has been sidelined since he hurt his other hamstring in the closing minutes of the Aug. 17 preseason win over Atlanta. Though the injury wasn’t deemed as significant as the previous one, you wonder if Isaac may still land on injured reserve, which would sideline him for a minimum of four games.
“It’s the other leg, but it’s not like it was before. It’s not the one that’s going to keep him out like it was before,” head coach John Harbaugh said Aug. 20. “He just has to keep working through this. You saw how well he played, right? It’s just a matter of him working into football shape. You think the guy is going to come out, and all of sudden he’s healthy, and like boom, he’s going to be 100%, but all of these practices callus these guys. They get these guys to the point where they can handle the volume, they can handle the load, they can handle the reps — the high-level intensity rep after rep.
“He’s going to work into that. We call it ‘football shape.’ He’ll have to work into that, and I’m sure he will.”
Though Ali returned to practice on a limited basis this past week, he isn’t expected to play and has been in the concussion protocol, which stems from the neck stinger he suffered in the Aug. 9 preseason opener.
The Ravens have had a tough time identifying a healthy No. 3 running back behind starter Derrick Henry and top backup Justice Hill with Ali being sidelined for much of the last month and Owen Wright fracturing his foot in the preseason finale. Baltimore could elect to elevate veteran John Kelly from the practice squad to serve as the third back, which would be more of a special-teams role anyway.
The Ravens and Chiefs have until 4 p.m. Thursday to make any practice-squad elevations or roster moves for their Week 1 clash.
As expected, Kansas City ruled out wide receiver Marquise Brown with a shoulder injury. The former Raven suffered a sternoclavicular shoulder joint separation in the Chiefs’ preseason opener, an injury that was always expected to keep him out of the opener.
Kansas City listed eight others as full practice participants throughout the week and did not give anyone else a game-status designation.
Below is the final injury report for Week 1:
BALTIMORE
OUT: OLB Adisa Isaac (hamstring)
DOUBTFUL: RB Rasheen Ali (neck)
KANSAS CITY
OUT: WR Marquise Brown (shoulder)
