How many games will Marlon Humphrey miss? How could that impact the Ravens season?

The Baltimore Ravens entered training camp knowing what they were getting into. With a thin pair of units at both the EDGE and cornerback positions, any and every injury happening to a player pertaining to those stables could be season defining.

That is what happened earlier this week, as Marlon Humphrey suffered an "undisclosed foot injury" that required surgery and will keep him out for a few weeks.

Head Coach John Harbaugh, speaking to reporters (h/t Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com) on Wednesday, said that the injury "is not going to be a long-term deal," although he didn't say exactly for how long Humphrey will remain unavailable.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network added a little bit more information, writing in his social networks that "the hope is he's back in a little over a month."

As the report indicated, with surgery taking place on Wed., Aug 16, and the first regular-season matchup scheduled for Sep. 10, that means Humphrey could be out "for the first couple games."

The Ravens face the Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, and Indianapolis Colts next September through the first three weeks of play.

Humphrey is nearly a lock to miss the Week 1 game against the Texans. That's not overly concerning, assuming rookie C.J. Stroud starts for Houston and goes through some growing pains early in his career.

The Week 2 matchup at Cincinnati looks much more daunting, though. The opponent itself is already scary, as the Bengals are coming off back-to-back AFC North titles and boasting a ridiculous trifecta of wideouts (Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins) not to mention a sublime QB in Joe Borrow (currently injured).

Finally, and considering Rapoport's one-month timeline for Humphrey's comeback, the veteran cornerback should be ready and fit to play against the Colts, let alone the Cleveland Browns come Week 4 on Oct. 1.

Good for the Ravens, Indianapolis is also expected to start a rookie QB (he's already been named QB1 by their head coach) in Anthony Richardson. That doesn't mean the Colts are just out of contention to beat the Ravens, but having a rookie passer should help Baltimore ease in Humphrey.

While it can be considered fait accompli that Humphrey will miss the first two weeks (vs. HOU, at CIN), he should be ready to go by the time the Flock hosts Indianapolis in Week 3. However, any setback or delay in his return could be season-changing for the aspirations of Baltimore.

Week 4 brings a matchup with the Browns and Week 5 features a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens should do all they can to reach October boasting at least a 2-1 record to have some padding in case of Humphrey missing the divisional matchups in Week 4 and Week 5 if they don't want to overcomplicate the second half of their 2023 campaign.

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