The Ravens secondary depth took a hit with news cornerback Iman Marshall suffered a serious knee injury and would be heading towards injured reserve.
Second-year cornerback Iman Marshall was going to have a battle to make one of the final spots in what’s a crowded Baltimore Ravens secondary.
Unfortunately, it looks as if that campaign will prematurely come to a close.
Marshall suffered a serious knee injury during training camp on Sunday, according to head coach John Harbaugh, who told the Baltimore Sun the following:
"Iman Marshall had a major knee injury yesterday. Unfortunately he had been working hard and was practicing well. He just came down on his right leg really awkwardly and he’s going to need major surgery. I believe it’s ACL and MCL."
Shortly after the announcement from Harbaugh, the team officially announced Marshall was going on injured reserve:
CB Iman Marshall has been placed on IR.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 17, 2020
Marshall was going to compete for one of the final spots on the depth chart behind presumed starters Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters and Tavon Young. Third-year pro Anthony Averett figured to be Marshall’s primary competition during camp, and the latter’s injury makes Averett’s road to the 53-man roster much more secure.
For Marshall, it’s a notable setback after being selected in Round 4 of the 2019 NFL Draft out of USC. He spent the majority of his rookie season on injured reserve, eventually promoted to the regular-season roster on Nov. 12 of last year where he appeared in three games, primarily serving on special teams.
The good news is Baltimore’s secondary is still loaded with talent, and it was far from guaranteed Marshall would have made the cut if he had stayed healthy.
It’s still unfortunate he suffered the injury, although one can reason the Ravens’ defensive backfield will be just fine in his wake. There’s also a good chance Baltimore won’t need to onboard additional defensive backs to make up for Marshall’s absence in training camp, although a corresponding move has yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, the Ravens’ No. 6-ranked pass defense will look to carry on with the remainder of its star-studded cast.