The Baltimore Ravens upgraded seven players on their Thursday injury report, including returns to practice from Kyle Hamilton, Vega Ioane, and Roquan Smith after absences on Wednesday. Safety Jaylinn Hawkins was the only player on the active roster to miss practice entirely.
Ioane is expected to miss time due to an MCL sprain, but the first-round pick is pushing to play through the injury and take the field against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Even while injured, there
is a steep drop-off in play to backups Andrew Vorhees and Emery Jones, and line play has been the offense’s kryponite this year.
However, this may be a case when the Ravens have to protect a young player from himself, as they have in the past with Hamilton. Both are physical, full-effort players who will give their all whenever they are on the field. Hamilton in particular has spoken about being willing to sacrifice for those he cares about. But short-term injuries can quickly turn into long-term ones, especially when the injured players in question are banging heads in the trenches.
Hamilton was able to play the full game in Week 7, so his knee appears to be in better shape. Progressing to full participation on Friday would likely mean he is playing in Buffalo, but that may not be the case for Ioane, especially with a short week ahead of next Thursday’s matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Less is known about Smith’s injury, which looked concerning initially but only sidelined him for one practice.
Zenitz also reported on Thursday morningthat Lamar Jackson is “on track” to return from his three-game absence. The 29-year-old quarterback was a full participant for a second day in a row; a repeat on Friday would set him up to play against the Bills, but the quick turnaround before Week 8 could be a factor as it was last year.
Here is the Ravens’ full Thursday injury report (* denotes change in status):
Full participation
- TE Mark Andrews (hand)
- DL Calais Campbell (rest) *
- OLB Trey Hendrickson (finger)
- TE Matthew Hibner (hand)
- QB Lamar Jackson (full)
- NT John Jenkins (knee) *
- RB Adam Randall (neck, designated to return from IR)
- LT Ronnie Stanley (rest/toe/ankle) *
- CB T.J. Tampa (knee, designated to return from IR) *
- DT Broderick Washington (ankle) *
Limited participation
- S Kyle Hamilton (knee) *
- RG Vega Ioane (knee) *
- LG John Simpson (groin)
- LB Roquan Smith (knee) *
Did not participate
- S Jaylinn Hawkins (knee)
The rest of the squad is in relatively good shape heading into Sunday. Hawkins will likely miss a second game in a row, but Simpson has been playing with limited practice participation for weeks. The Ravens could slowplay the returns of Tampa and Randall from injured reserve, but both could fortify key areas of the team. The former still has another week to practice before he must be activated, while the latter was only designated to return this week.
Comparatively, the Bills had a worse Thursday, downgrading three players. Linebacker Joe Andreessen (knee, limited) and running back Ray Davis (illness, DNP) were both added to the Week 8 injury report, while cornerback Dee Alford (knee) went from limited to DNP. Right tackle Spencer Brown (back) was sidelined for a second day in a row, putting him at real risk of missing Sunday’s game.
