Ravens Secondary Hampered by Injuries Heading Into Jaguars Game

Team is dealing with multiple injuries

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Ravens were scrambling to find healthy cornerbacks in Week 14 against Cleveland because of multiple injuries throughout the game. 

At one point, Baltimore had three players – Jimmy Smith, Marcus Peters and Davontae Harris — forced to the sideline in the 47-42 victory. 

The Ravens now has one healthy cornerback — Marlon Humphrey - heading into the matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.

"We only had four guys up, and then we had three hurt," coach John Harbaugh said about the Browns game. "So, that was definitely something we were scrambling with there. We did it that way for a reason. We wanted to go a little heavier upfront with the offense that we were playing against and what we thought we might get. So, yes – it could definitely affect how we do it this week. 

"It’s a similar style of offense, but we’ll have to make those decisions come an hour and a half before the game on Sunday. We’re talking about it now. So, that’s definitely something that you take very seriously every single week when you decide who your roster is going to be at game-time.”

Smith has already been ruled out with a rib/shoulder injury. Peters did not practice this past week with a calf injury but is listed as questionable. Averett (ankle), Williams (thigh) and Harris (ankle) also are listed as questionable. 

“I think we’re going to get some guys back healthy, and some others, let’s wait and see," Baltimore defensive coordinator Don Martindale said. "We bought our insurance in bigger guys for that Cleveland game, and the unthinkable happened. So, we’ll see what happens coming up here for Jacksonville. I think some of them are getting healthy, and some of them are still probably going to be game-time decisions.”

Gardner Minshew will make the start at quarterback for Jacksonville, which has the league's 20th-ranked passing attack (235.5 yards per game. 

Last week, Minshew replaced Mike Glennon in the third quarter of a 31-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans. It was Minshew’s first appearance since Week 7. He has thrown for 2,033 yards with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions over eight games. 

D.J. Clark leads Jacksonville with 591 yards receiving, followed by Keelan Cole (571 yards) and Laviska Shenault (441 yards). 

Martindale hopes to avoid a similar situation in Cleveland where he was forced to make numerous adjustments throughout the game because of the injuries. The Ravens can add depth by activating Terrell Bonds from IR and promoting Pierre Desir from the practice squad.

“I think frantic is the right word, in some ways," Martindale said. "You’re sitting there and you’re saying, ‘OK. What can I run?’ And what it did do is it just made us very vanilla for a lot of reasons. Because as a play-caller, you have to say, ‘OK. I have this guy playing here, so I can’t call this, this or this. How about we call that?’ It limits you on what you actually can call, and that came back and bit us down there in the red zone. 

"It’s one of those things that happens. It’s one of those series of events that we talk about all the time. Thankfully, we made enough plays to come out with the win in a shootout like that."