Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins is ready to run his way back to becoming the RB1 of the team in 2022 and won’t let anything get in his way.
One week ago, Dobbins clapped back at NFL’s Ian Rapoport after Rapoport reported Dobbins was questionable to return for Week 1. Dobbins himself declared he was “damn sure” going to be ready for Week 1 and claimed his recovery was going extremely well.
Despite starting training camp on the PUP list, Dobbins is bringing that same fiery energy to preseason and was spotted talking to John Harbaugh and Eric DeCosta on the field last week.
J.K Dobbins showed up to practice with 20-30 minutes left in uniform. Looked like he was in conversation with Head Coach John Harbaugh. Afterward, he went and spoke with GM Eric DeCosta before leaving the field. Looked like he was trying to get on the field.
— Kyle Phoenix Barber (@KylePBarber) July 27, 2022
The fact that Dobbins showed up in uniform strongly suggests he was trying to get in some starting reps with the team, though Harbaugh understandably wants to play it safe.
Ravens’ J.K. Dobbins can’t wait to prove his haters wrong in 2022
Dobbins suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Ravens’ final preseason game of 2021, and as a whole Baltimore’s running back corps was stretched very thin. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill all missed time due to injuries and forced the team to pick up a few veteran free agents to round out the rushing attack.
For a run-heavy team like the Ravens, having Dobbins back in the fold is a blessing, but they don’t want another running back plague to devastate the roster again in 2022.
Harbaugh likely won’t rush Dobbins (or Edwards) back onto the field too early, and despite Dobbins’ protests, there could be a good chance Dobbins does indeed miss Week 1 purely out of precaution reasons.
This offseason, Baltimore acquired plenty of depth at the position (Tyler Badie, Mike Davis) for insurance, and heading into the 2022 season the Ravens seem adamant to keep Dobbins out of team practices for now.
Expect J.K. Dobbins to keep pushing back, though. He knows how important this season is both for the Ravens and for his own career.