Baltimore Ravens: Williams, Davis and Canady practice today
By Joe Schiller
The Baltimore Ravens saw Brandon Williams, Carl Davis and Maurice Canady all return back to practice today.
Injuries have been decimated the Baltimore Ravens this season. Every week it seems there’s more bad injuries news. But this time, the Ravens were on the opposite side as they saw three important defensive players return from injury.
Ravens beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec reported that Brandon Williams, Carl Davis and Maurice Canady all practiced today.
Williams has missed the last four games dealing with a foot injury. His absence on the interior of the defensive line has been more than noticeable. The Ravens are struggling to plug gaps and are giving up over 140 rushing yards per game. If anyone disagreed with the resigning of Williams over the offseason, this is your proof right here. He’s one of the most important players on the defensive front.
Davis’ return also helps shore up the front-seven. He missed last Sunday’s game after suffering a calf injury against the Raiders in Week 5. Davis has replaced injured Brent Urban and played well. He has one of the highest run stop percentages this season among defensive interior lineman according to Pro Football Focus.
Getting back Williams and Davis is huge in the Ravens run defense. When there’s no pressure up front, it affects the rest of the front-seven. C.J. Mosley isn’t able to find the same tackling lanes and has to work a lot harder to get to the ball. Mosley leads the NFL in tackles so far this season, but that’s because he’s made so many plays in the second level.
The other big news surrounds cornerback Maurice Canady. Canady has been on injured reserve since the start of September recovering from a knee procedure. He had a great offseason and was expected to compete for the starting slot corner spot, but that was put on hold with injury. Like Zrebiec said in the above tweet, this starts a three week return for Canady. It gives the Ravens even more depth at the cornerback spot, which is crucial down the final stretch of the season.
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Canady counts as one of the two spots the Ravens have for injured reserve designations, with the other being held by running back Danny Woodhead. The team hopes to see both on the field before the season is over.