The Baltimore Ravens placed linebacker Malik Harrison on the non-football injury list earlier this week following a shooting incident that saw him sustain a non-life-threatening injury.
Fortunately, it appears as though Harrison will be OK following the incident and that he’s only set to miss a few games. Both Harrison and the Ravens avoided what could have been a much worse situation.
Harrison was struck in the calf by a stray bullet outside a Cleveland nightclub on Sunday night during the team’s bye week.
The 23-year-old was taken to a Cleveland hospital and released shortly after. Harrison posted an update on Twitter thanking fans for his support and vowing to return in the near future.
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/YhUj3tR7Gd
— Malik Harrison 💂🏾♂️ (@Leek_39) November 2, 2021
The Ravens will only be without Malik Harrison for a few weeks
The Ravens’ decision to place Harrison on the NFI list means that the young linebacker will be forced to miss at least three games. However, it doesn’t appear to be an injury that will keep him sidelined long-term.
Head coach John Harbaugh spoke about Harrison and gave an update on his status on Wednesday.
Coach Harbaugh provides an update on Malik Harrison: pic.twitter.com/wTkrBjcnjn
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 3, 2021
Harbaugh insisted that Harrison’s stint on the NFI list will only be a short-term stay and that he should return after just a few weeks.
This is good news for a Ravens defense that needs all the linebacker help they could get.
Harrison began the year as a starter alongside Patrick Queen and the Ravens had high hopes for their young linebacker duo. Unfortunately, both players have seen their playing time decrease in recent weeks.
Harrison started the first five weeks of the season, but hasn’t played more than 30 percent of defensive snaps in a game since Week 4, over a month ago. For context, he played over 50 percent of snaps in three of the first four games.
Instead, it’s been the veteran Josh Bynes who has taken over as arguably the team’s top linebacker.
Even though Harrison’s playing time has diminished, the Ravens will still be happy to see him return.
And more importantly, everyone is certainly thankful that he avoided a potential tragedy