The Baltimore Ravens have been hit hard with injuries in recent days. And during Monday’s season-opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, they lost starting left guard Tyre Phillips to a potentially serious knee injury in the first half.
Phillips went down with a knee injury in the first half of Monday’s game and had to be carted off the field. Shortly after, the Ravens almost immediately declared him “doubtful” to return.
Not a great sign, to say the least.
Phillips would be just the latest in a string of awful injury luck the Ravens have dealt with over the last few weeks. The team is surely hoping the injury isn’t as bad as it initially seems.
A Tyre Phillips injury would hurt the Ravens offensive line
A third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Phillips started eight games as a rookie playing both right guard and right tackle. He started a total of six games at guard while filling in for two games at tackle.
Phillips entered training camp competing with the likes of Ben Cleveland and Ben Powers for the starting left guard job. Despite being seen as the underdog in the battle, he managed to come out on top.
Cleveland missed some time with injuries which likely cost him his chance at the starting job. But Phillips just beat out Powers who was healthy all summer.
If Phillips is forced to miss any significant period of time, the Ravens will likely turn to Powers who replaced him in the starting lineup on Monday.
They could also look to give the rookie Cleveland a shot in the starting lineup. Cleveland was a healthy scratch on Monday but will likely be forced into an active role if Phillips is sidelined.
The Ravens are holding their breath after losing the likes of J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, L.J. Fort, and Marcus Peters to torn ACLs in recent weeks.
Here’s to hoping Tyre Phillips won’t join that unfortunate list.