The Ravens have lost another notable player to a multi-week injury with outside linebacker David Ojabo now sidelined until at least late October.
Having already ruled out the 2022 second-round pick for Sunday’s game in Cleveland, Baltimore placed Ojabo on injured reserve with ankle and knee injuries on Saturday, meaning he will miss a minimum of four games before being eligible to return. Making his first NFL start in last Sunday’s loss to Indianapolis, Ojabo left after only four snaps, leaving defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald shorthanded at outside linebacker and forcing rookie Tavius Robinson and former practice-squad member Jeremiah Moon to play extensive snaps. Fellow outside linebacker Odafe Oweh has been out with an ankle injury since Week 2.
To take Ojabo’s place on the 53-man roster, the Ravens promoted veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy from the practice squad, a move that was anticipated sooner than later. Van Noy, 32, signed with Baltimore earlier this week and registered 46 tackles and five sacks in 17 games with the Los Angeles Chargers last season. How much Van Noy will play Sunday remains to be seen since he didn’t have a training camp after remaining unsigned throughout the offseason.
“He’s an impressive guy. From the day that he came into visit and just getting to know him and talking to him about ball, he’s already got third-down thoughts and stuff like that,” Macdonald said Thursday. “It seems like he’s been in this defense for however long. But he’s impressive. Similar to when Roquan [Smith] showed up here, it’s like, ‘OK. This dude, he knows his stuff.’ He’s an impressive guy all the way around. Obviously, a great football player from what we’ve seen already on the practice field, and he has a great track record. We’ll see how it shakes out over the course of the rest of the week, but I feel really great about him.”
With the Ravens having ruled out wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) and Rashod Bateman (hamstring) for Sunday’s game against the Browns, veteran wide receiver Laquon Treadwell was elevated from the practice squad for Week 4. Treadwell joins a trio of healthy wide receivers on the 53-man roster: Zay Flowers, Nelson Agholor, and Devin Duvernay. Baltimore placed wide receiver Tylan Wallace on IR with a hamstring injury earlier this week.
Baltimore also elevated running back Melvin Gordon from the practice squad for the third straight week. He’s expected to serve as the No. 3 back behind Gus Edwards and the returning Justice Hill, who missed last Sunday’s game with a toe injury.
