Zuttah placed on IR, West promoted to 53-man roster

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — It was another day and another roster move for the Ravens as starting center Jeremy Zuttah was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a partially-torn pectoral muscle on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old initially suffered an injury to the area in the Week 8 win over San Diego, but he suffered further damage in Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville. Zuttah has started 65 consecutive games and hasn’t missed an NFL contest since the 2011 season, but second-year lineman John Urschel will now step into the starting center role.
“The decision has been made to get that repaired right away,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “They can’t say 100 percent that it would heal like they want it to if we took time and waited, so we’re going to go ahead and get that done.”
Acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay in the spring of 2014, Zuttah was key in turning around the Baltimore running game a year ago as he replaced ex-Raven Gino Gradkowski at the center position. Urschel made three starts as a rookie last season, but he will be making his first career start at center against St. Louis.
Having filled in for Zuttah late in the Chargers game, Urschel struggled with his shotgun snaps, but he has performed well as a blocker, including two starts in the postseason as a rookie. Quarterback Joe Flacco acknowledged that it will be a challenging transition that he hasn’t experienced often in his NFL career.
“Losing the center is definitely a tough thing,” Flacco said. “Since I’ve been here, I don’t think I’ve played with a backup center other than a couple snaps here and there. Guys have stayed pretty healthy. Jeremy has stayed pretty healthy. That’s definitely a big blow — not because of who we have coming in. John’s going to do great. You’ve seen he can get in there and do a great job for us. He’s going to make all the calls. He’s going to do great, and he has done great for us at guard and other positions.”
Baltimore promoted former Towson running back Terrance West to the 53-man roster to take Zuttah’s place. The 2014 third-round pick of the Cleveland Browns was signed to the practice squad last week a few days after being waived by the Tennessee Titans.
Now officially on his third 53-man roster in just over two months, the maligned second-year back would stand to benefit from the tutelage of veteran starter Justin Forsett. It’s a role the 30-year-old is more than willing to take on with any of the team’s young running backs.
“I think I’m the oldest guy in the room by a little bit, so I try to take all of them under my wing a little bit and try to pour as much into them as I can,” Forsett said. “I’ve been in his situation before, where he’s been on a couple of teams [his] first couple of years in the league, so as much as I can pour into him, I will.”