Ravens begin their search for a new mascot after Poe’s injury

The Baltimore Ravens were dealt a significant blow when their team mascot, Poe, was carted off the field at halftime of the team’s final preseason game against the Washington Commanders with a potentially serious injury.

Poe was participating in an exhibition football game at halftime at the time of the injury, one that was later revealed to be a “drumstick” injury.

Head coach John Harbaugh expressed remorse for his fallen bird friend and insisted that the Ravens would find a replacement for Poe who had been placed on the injured reserve.

That search for a replacement has officially begun.

The Ravens posted a video to Twitter on Saturday featuring Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz on the job looking for Poe’s replacement.

The injury bug hit the Ravens early this season in the form of Poe

In the video, Hortiz admits that the search has been a challenging one, referring to the field of candidates as “a competitive field.” There were some familiar local faces among the list of tryouts.

This included The Oriole Bird (Baltimore Orioles), Iggy the Greyhound (Loyola University Maryland), Testudo (University of Maryland), Benny the Bear (Morgan State University), Bill the Goat (Navy University), and numerous others.

Hortiz seemed to be a fan of The Oriole Bird, but he questioned the mascot’s commitment seeing as he may not be around until after October given the Orioles’ recent success.

In the end, Hortiz hinted that the Ravens might not even be able to settle on one replacement. Perhaps we could see a series of mascots for the Ravens this season. Either way, no one is replacing Poe.

The Ravens were hit hard with injuries last season and it seems as though that injury bug hit them early this year. Here’s to hoping that Poe’s injury is just an isolated incident and not a sign of things to come.

We here at Ebony Bird wish Poe a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing what the Ravens have in store for their home crowd this season.