Not a great start to the week for the Baltimore Ravens judging by the reports emerging from The Castle on Wednesday, folks.
Three key players of the offense, wide receivers Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham Jr., and right tackle Morgan Moses were absent from Wednesday's practice in the first training session ahead of the Week 16 Christmas Day game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The absence of Flowers, Beckham, and Moses might have to do with a simple resting day considering the next game is scheduled for Monday instead of Sunday. That said, the worrying development has everybody on their toes, even more so considering there won't be an official injury report until Thursday.
Ravens WRs Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham Jr. were both missing at practice today.
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) December 20, 2023
There’s no injury report until Thursday, but John Harbaugh’s presser starts in about an hour. Ravens have another day of rest to get right for MNF, too. pic.twitter.com/a5mnpQz0q2
Zay Flowers was seen wearing a walking boot, reportedly as a precaution for a sprained foot. Head coach John Harbaugh expressed "no concern" about Flowers' status for Monday's matchup, downplaying the severity of the rookie's foot issue.
Beckham Jr., on the other hand, appeared to be dealing with a right heel issue during Sunday’s win, but no new information about his status has emerged since.
Morgan Moses was not listed on the injury report entering last weekend, but he is seemingly still dealing with a banged-up shoulder.
Cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Jalyn Armour-Davis also missed Wednesday’s practice. On top of those secondary-unit DNPs, free safety Marcus Williams was a limited participant as he's recovering from the groin injury he sustained last weekend.
On a slightly more positive note, left tackle Ronnie Stanley returned to practice after clearing concussion protocol following his exit from last Sunday's outing.
The Ravens promoted veteran running back Melvin Gordon to the 53-man roster and signed former University of Maryland running back Jake Funk to the practice squad following Keaton Mitchell's season-ending injury.
Both practiced on Wednesday along with fellow rusher Justice Hill, who should get a larger workload going forward.
Finally, it's worth noting that the Ravens added Ben Mason to their practice squad after losing rookie Travis Vokolek to the Arizona Cardinals as they signed the freshman off Baltimore's practice squad.