The Baltimore Ravens can’t seem to catch a break this offseason. In the span of 12 days, the Ravens have lost JK Dobbins to a torn ACL, Justice Hill to an Achilles injury, and now Gus Edwards to a “major knee injury”. While MRI results have yet to be released, word around M&T Bank Stadium is that the team fears it’s a torn ACL.
Making matters worse, the team also lost cornerback Marcus Peters to a similar injury at the same practice Thursday. Baltimore wasn’t even practicing in full pads, making the horrendous run of bad luck all the more shocking.
Suddenly, Ty’Son Williams, who has 0 NFL carries to his name, is now the lead back in Baltimore. Williams averaged 5.4 yards per carry as a Senior at BYU, but was scarcely used in their pass first offense.
Trenton Cannon and Le’Veon Bell will now likely be elevated from the practice roster, but have only been practicing with the team for 24 hours. In a corresponding move, the Ravens went out and signed Devonta Freeman to their practice squad.
The one shred of good news is that Baltimore has an extra day to prepare for their week 1 match against the Raiders as the two teams are scheduled for a Monday night showdown.
For fantasy purposes your best for now is to add Williams (i.e. the lone back with more than a days worth of practice reps with the team) as he’ll likely get the first crack at starting duties. From there however, it’s anyone’s guess as to how the Ravens will deploy their running backs. Bell is likely the more appealing option out of himself, Cannon, and Freeman, but he’s also 3 years removed from being fantasy relevant.
If you’re a Gus Edwards owner, your best bet is to hold him for now and pray for a miracle. If he has indeed torn his ACL he becomes immediately droppable. If you play in a keeper league, stash him on IR and see how Baltimore’s RB situation shapes up over the summer.