John Harbaugh: Marlon Humphrey's return timeline is "pretty well-defined"

The Baltimore Ravens began training camp with a precarious situation at both the EDGE and cornerback positions. Marlon Humphrey's recent "undisclosed foot injury" forced him to undergo surgery, sidelining him for "weeks" in principle.

Coach Harbaugh stated on Wednesday that it was "not long-term" but didn't specify the absence duration. It was only when NFL Network's Ian Rapoport published a message on his personal social networks that we learned Humphrey's absence was expected to last "a little over a month."

Harbaugh talked to reporters again on the final practice of the Ravens training camp ahead of their preseason Week 2 matchup at Washington, sharing new information about Humphrey's situation.

"He had the surgery. It went very well," Harbaugh said per Clifton Brown of BaltimoreRavens.com. "The timeline is pretty well-defined," he continued.

Harbaugh also warned reporters that he is "not going to give [the timeline] to you," although he conceded that "it's not super-long."

Importantly for the Ravens' Super Bowl aspirations, even after the signings of CB Ronald Darby and EDGE Jadeveon Clowney to bolster their defense, coach Harbs said that Humphrey "is going to be back pretty early in the season."

We explored the Ravens' schedule for the first month of the regular season yesterday. According to Rapoport's "one-month" potential recovery time, that means that Humphrey would definitely miss Week 1 and most probably Week 2 too if the Ravens don't rush the cornerback back.

In a realistic timeline, assuming everything goes according to plan and trusting Harbaugh's words even though he didn't reveal the actual expectations, Humphrey should be available come Week 3 (Sep. 24) even if not at 100%, let alone be a lock to man the secondary already fully fit by the time the Ravens face the Browns in a divisional Week 4 matchup.

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