OWINGS MILLS, Md. — It was three years ago last week that the Ravens waived safety Geno Stone, who was then a seventh-round rookie yet to make his NFL debut.
The University of Iowa product cleared waivers, re-signed to Baltimore’s practice squad, appeared in two November games before moving back to the 53-man roster, landed on the COVID-19 list in the midst of a team-wide virus outbreak, and was waived again in late December, this time being claimed by Houston. However, Stone never appeared in a game for the Texans and wasn’t tendered a contract after the 2020 campaign, opening the door for him to return to the Ravens the following March and emerge as a special-teams standout and viable backup in his second season.
Now preparing to make his 12th career start in place of the injured Marcus Williams against Detroit on Sunday, Stone remembers the guidance he received from former teammate Anthony Levine, who had endured similar challenges just trying to survive in the NFL before going on to have a solid 10-season run with the Ravens. Stone is still trying to control what he can control and make the most of his opportunities, which are becoming more and more frequent.
“I feel like I’ve been trying to do the same things every time I get in my situations,” Stone said. “It’s not a good situation because guys go down, but at the end of the day, it’s a ‘next man up’ mentality. I always try to take that with me. I’ve been like that since college, since high school. Whatever it was, whatever obstacle I had in front of me, I wanted to make sure I get the best of my opportunity.”
After playing well over seven starts in place of Williams last season, Stone has taken his play to the next level in 2023 with a career-high and league-leading three interceptions while Pro Football Focus has graded him third among qualified safeties. Of course, the Ravens would love to have Williams patrolling deep center field, but Stone’s play gives them the confidence to play it safe with the former’s injured hamstring. The same was true when Williams suffered a pectoral injury in the season opener, which sidelined him for three games.
While Williams is not expected to play this week, the defense welcomed back outside linebacker Odafe Oweh to practice for the first time since the 2021 first-round pick sustained an ankle injury in the Week 2 win over Cincinnati. Oweh was listed as a limited practice participant on Wednesday, and one of his prominent teammates is looking forward to having him back on the field to help make getting to the quarterback a little easier. After an up-and-down first two seasons, Oweh registered seven total pressures and four quarterbacks hits in the season-opening win over Houston, according to PFF.
“I’m tired of getting chip blocked,” said veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney as he laughed. “Having him out there is like another dog out there. We miss him, and it’s going to keep getting better getting the guys back week in and week out. Oweh is a good pass rusher — and we need him — and a good run stopper. I think he’s just waiting on his time for him to peak in this league. He kind of reminds me of myself — a guy that just comes to practice, works extremely hard and brings it every day and beats guys. It just hasn’t rolled over to the games quite yet, and I feel like his time is coming.”
Oweh wasn’t the only outside linebacker to return to the practice field Wednesday as Malik Harrison was a limited participant after entering the concussion protocol in last Sunday’s win over Tennessee in London. Defensive end Brent Urban (neck) and cornerback Kevon Seymour (ankle) joined Williams as non-participants during Wednesday’s practice.
The status of outside linebacker Tyus Bowser remains unclear just two days after head coach John Harbaugh said his situation had become “a little more complicated over the last couple of weeks,” seemingly casting some doubt on his availability for the remainder of the season. Bowser remains on the non-football injury list while recovering from a mysterious knee ailment that surfaced in the spring. The seventh-year veteran is eligible to begin practicing at any point now after sitting out the minimum four games to open the season.
“I just really want what’s best for Tyus. I want this to get resolved because he’s worked hard to get physically where he can come back and play,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. “He’s worked really hard to do it. I think there are some doctors meetings going on this week. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the resolutions [are]. I’m hopeful that he gets back and plays. That’s what you want. It’s going to be in his court I think. That’s been my understanding of it. We’ll just see what happens, but those are real decisions that guys have to make.”
Entering Week 7 leading the NFC North with an impressive 5-1 record, the Lions are dealing with injuries at running back with starter David Montgomery (ribs) not expected to play Sunday and veteran backup Craig Reynolds missing Wednesday’s practice with hamstring and toe injuries. However, first-round rookie Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) was listed as a limited participant on their estimated injury report and appears to have a chance to return after a two-game absence.
Second-round rookie defensive back Brian Branch (ankle) was also a limited participant after missing the last two games.
Below was Wednesday’s full injury report:
BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: OLB Jadeveon Clowney (rest/knee), CB Kevon Seymour (ankle), DE Brent Urban (neck), S Marcus Williams (hamstring)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: LB Malik Harrison (concussion), OLB Odafe Oweh (ankle)
DETROIT
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: G Jonah Jackson (ankle), RB David Montgomery (ribs), RB Craig Reynolds (hamstring/toe)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: DB Brian Branch (ankle), RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring), TE Sam LaPorta (calf), TE James Mitchell (hamstring), DL Josh Paschal (knee), C Frank Ragnow (toe)
