The Ravens (2-1) will fly to Cleveland to face the Browns (2-1) in Week 4 and as things stand they won't be able to carry any of their three "starting" running backs.
The situation is so dire, in fact, that Baltimore doesn't actually have a single running back in their active/53-man roster with Melvin Gordon and Kenyan Drake still members of their practice squad and simply elevated to the gameday roster in the past couple of weeks.
J.K. Dobbins was lost for the season midway through the Week 1 clash against the Texans after tearing his Achilles. Justice Hill completed both the first and second games of the season but he popped up in the injury report at the start of last week and was ruled out for Week 3.
Then, last Sunday, Gus Edwards was forced out of the Week 3 matchup against the Colts with a concussion.
On his weekly "Monday Injury Report" column, Doctorate in Physical Therapy and practicing Physical Therapist Adam Hutchinson of Football Guys offered a diagnostic of Edwards' issue and a timeline for his comeback, projecting a "Week 5 return" for the running back.
"A player who did have a documented concussion was Gus Edwards. The Ravens' RB had to be taken to the locker room during Sunday's game. On average, NFL RBs miss 1.8 games with a concussion, and 75% of players miss at least one game. With Justice Hill dealing with turf toe (a multi-week injury typically), it's very possible that we move back in time to 2019 when Kenyan Drake and Melvin Gordon are fantasy-relevant again...both are next in line for RB touches.Adam Hutchinson, Physical Therapist
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Hutchinson already reported about another concussion we touched on last week pertainint to Colts QB Anthony Richardson, and he nailed it.
In this case, Hutchinson researched historical concussion data from running backs and came up with players at the position missing 1.8 games on average. That means Edwards can be more than considered ruled out for the game against the Browns--if not also for the one at Pittsburgh in Week 5.
Hutchinson added that "75% of players miss at least one game," which means Edwards has a meager 25% chance of getting to the field on Sunday when the Ravens will attempt to beat a divisional rival for the second time this season after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) in Week 2.
If Edwards is out, and with Justice Hill suffering a turf toe injury expected to leave him out for multiple weeks (also per Hutchinson's report), the Ravens will have to rely on Melvin Gordon, Kenyan Drake, and practice-squad-depth-rusher Owen Wright.