The Baltimore Ravens have dealt with injuries all season with an NFL-leading 17 players currently on the injured reserve. But their Week 4 opponents, the Denver Broncos are battling injury woes of their own.
The Broncos are set to be without seven starters today after it was revealed that both of their starting guards, Dalton Risner and Graham Glasgow, would miss this week’s game with injuries.
Risner and Glasgow join other injured starters such as Jerry Jeudy, K.J. Hamler, Ronald Darby, Bradley Chubb, and Josey Jewell who will all be sidelined this week. Some will be out much longer.
The Ravens are beat up. The Broncos are beat up. Week 4 will feature a battle between two teams struggling to stay healthy.
Not that Ravens want to hear complaints about injuries and we'll see about Glasgow and Risner tests today but Broncos will be down 5 and possibly 7 starters for game Sunday:
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) September 27, 2021
Jeudy, Hamler, Risner, Glasgow, Darby, Chubb, Jewell. #9sports
The Ravens injury report will be just as long as the Broncos injury report in Week 4
As for the Ravens, we’re still awaiting official word on the number of players that will be unable to play this week. 11 total players enter the game with injury designations.
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley and defensive lineman Derek Wolfe are both OUT with the latter landing on the injured reserve this weekend.
Meanwhile, the likes of cornerback Anthony Averett, safety DeShon Elliott, safety Chuck Clark, outside linebacker Pernell McPhee, safety Geno Stone, offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, quarterback Lamar Jackson, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, and cornerback Tavon Young are all listed as questionable.
Jackson, Humphrey, and Young are all expected to play after practicing fully on Friday. Villanueva, McPhee, Stone, and Clark were all limited participants, but the hope is that all of them will be able to play as well.
The statuses of Elliott and Averett are less certain, however.
Both defensive backs didn’t practice all week and it seems unlikely that Elliott will play leaving third-round pick Brandon Stephens as the most likely player to take his place in the starting lineup.
The Ravens can’t really afford to lose Averett who has done a fine job stepping in for the injured Marcus Peters this season. Behind him, Jimmy Smith and practice-squad call-up Kevon Seymour are the only two backups.
The Ravens will be shorthanded on Sunday, but so too will their opponents. It might just be a test to see who the last team standing is.