I have not researched the history of injury reports released by NFL franchises since the inception of the league, but I can tell you this: the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts might run out of available players by the time they meet on Sunday for their Week 3 matchup.
If you put together all names listed by the Ravens and the Colts in their respective injury reports released on Wednesday, you'll come up with a list including 14 names, nine of them belonging to Baltimore and five to Indy. Sheesh!
It's hella wild the Ravens can be 3-0 next Monday pic.twitter.com/mxLcOfZzr9
— Ebony Bird (@Ebony_Bird) September 20, 2023
Even worse than those lists being mad long is the fact that only three of those 14 players actually practiced yesterday. Even even worse is that the only participant on Wednesday's session on Baltimore's side of the equation was borderline-wideout and special-teamer Devin Duvernay. Ugh.
EVEN Even even worse: the Ravens just placed nickel cornerback Ar'Darius Washington on Injured Reserve ahead of Week 3.
The Ravens entered Week 1 (mainly) with starters CB Marlon Humphrey and TE Mark Andrews unavailable.
The Ravens exited Week 1 (mainly) with those two still unsure to play while also adding RB J.K. Dobbins, OT Ronnie Stanley, C Tyler Linderbaum, and S Marcus Williams to their injury bill.
The Ravens entered Week 2 (mainly) having TE Mark Andrews back available but nothing else going their way with all other injured players (including OLB Tyus Bowser, among others) still out last Sunday.
The Ravens exited Week 2 (mainly) losing many more players to injuries and other maladies, including new additions (per the injury report released on Wednesday) in WR Odell Beckham Jr. (no love-related), OLB Jadeveon Clowney, RB Justice Hill, and OLB Odafe Oweh.
Good Lord, brothers and sisters.
Running Back Justice Hill might miss time with a broken toe
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Hill "suffered a toe injury." The reporter added that the injury "could keep him out of the Week 3 matchup with the Colts," although he revealed that it "shouldn't result in a lengthy absence."
#Ravens RB Justice Hill suffered a toe injury that could keep him out of the Week 3 matchup with the #Colts but shouldn’t result in a lengthy absence, per source.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 20, 2023
Baltimore signed vet Kenyan Drake as insurance.
After knowing this, the signing of former Ravens running back by Baltimore to their practice squad earlier on the day made all of the sense given the context. Dobbins is lost for the year, the backfield only has two healthy bodies (Gus Edwards and Melvin Gordon), and reinforcements were needed one way or another with Hill now down too.
Head Coach John Harbaugh didn't reveal any further information regarding Hill (who as racked up 50 yards on 19 carries including 2 TDs through Week 2) and his injury on Wednesday, simply saying "It’s not anything to our advantage to talk about any of that stuff right now."
Oweh, Beckham, Stanley, and Linderbaum could play vs. Colts, considered "week-to-week"
As far as the two newest additions to the injury report on Wednesday, Beckham and Owe can be considered week-to-week casualties pending further updates and evaluations of their health issues.
Both appeared in Sunday's matchup against the Bengals, but Beckham left the game in the second half getting ruled out, and Oweh missed a ton of snaps throughout it, taking only 14 while injuring his ankle, later revealed by Harbaugh to be an "ankle sprain."
Harbaugh said that none of Beckham and Oweh's injuries are "long-term," so they should be back on the field come Sunday or next week at the latest in a worst-case scenario.
Update on A'rDarius Washington's injury and IR placement, Clowney and Humphreys absences
John Harbaugh provided an update on Washington's situation, confirming he has suffered an "upper-body injury" that will keep him out "multiple weeks." That forced the franchise to put him on Injured Reserve ahead of Week 3.
The cornerback will now be forced to miss the next four games and will be available in Week 7 at the earliest.
Washington handled the nickel cornerback position for the Ravens in Week 1 (73% of the snaps) and Week 2 (95%) nicely, although it's also worth noting that Cincinnati exploited him last weekend and nearly turned his weak-link role into a victory for the Bengals.
Through two games, Washington tackled 11 foes while defending two passes successfully and getting one sack.
Finally, Jadeveon Clowney didn't attend Wednesday's practice with an "illness." Clowney appeared in 46 defensive plays in Week 1 and followed that up with a similar workload last Sunday, defending 47 snaps.
Marcus Williams kept rehabbing under his "vague timeline" for a comeback, although at least that's definitely better and more promising than seeing him getting placed in IR, something he avoided by deciding not to undergo surgery on his torn pectoral muscle.
Marlon Humphrey is expected to miss Week 3 as he has not practiced in more than a month and he'll need some ramping up before making it back to the football field in live action against any NFL offense. However, Humphrey keeps trolling the world because that's who he is.
Meanwhile, Colts' starting quarterback Anthony Richardson is expected to miss Week 3 unless he clears the concussion protocol, something that entering Thursday feels a bit of a long shot.