As the offseason gets into full swing with OTAs beginning, the Baltimore Ravens will look to avoid the injury bug this season.
We’re not even a week into the start of OTAs and major injuries have already impacted teams. This week Chargers tight end Hunter Henry and Eagles linebacker Paul Worrilow suffered season-ending injuries. Luckily for the Baltimore Ravens, they haven’t experienced that unfortunate news but they’re all too familiar with it.
Just last season, the Ravens had 17 players on Injured Reserve. From training camp to throughout the season, important pieces such as Tavon Young, Alex Lewis, Brent Urban and Marshal Yanda were bitten by the injury bug. Even Joe Flacco missed the bulk of the offseason dealing with a back injury. It was a league-wide phenomenon, as high profile players seemingly went down almost every week. From Odell Beckham to Aaron Rodgers, injuries were prevalent across the board.
This isn’t a new phenomenon for the Ravens. They broke a franchise record with 22 players on IR back in 2015.
The organization received a bulk of criticism last season for the recent string of injuries, with blames extending from the medical staff to the strength and conditioning coaches. I, along with many others, don’t have an inside look into these parts. It would unfair for me to make a judgment based on that but the Ravens have had an uncharacteristically high number of injuries.
I believe there’s only so much preparation a team or player can do to avoid injuries. Whether it’s a non-contact injury or the result of a hit, it’s the unfortunate reality of the NFL. Players are going to get hurt.
The Ravens can take precautions, but their schedule doesn’t do them any favors. They start training camp one week early and have an extra preseason game due to the annual NFL Hall of Fame Game.
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Maybe they just need a blessing from the Football Gods, whatever it may be. Facing a make-or-break season in 2018, the last thing the Ravens can afford are major injuries affecting the depth chart.
Unfortunately, it may be too far out of their control.