RAVENS ALL-PRO CB MARLON HUMPHREY OUT FOR START OF THE SEASON AFTER UNDERGOING FOOT SURGERY
The Baltimore Ravens confirmed this week that three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey had undergone surgery on his foot and is set for some time on the sidelines.
According to Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, Humphrey’s injury had become a lingering issue and after a look by the medical staff, a decision was taken to take care of it early in preseason instead of later in the year. CBS Sports Josina Anderson reported that the foot injury was definitely not a Lisfranc injury, which takes longer to come back from.
Harbaugh declined to comment on how much time Humphrey is set to be sidelined with the foot injury saying that the timeline for his return is undetermined at the moment. He, however, confirmed that it shouldn’t be a long-term concern.
Humphrey, a 2017 first-round pick from Alabama, has been on the field all through training camp ahead of his seventh year in the league as the Ravens intend to make the push for a successful 2023 season. Humphrey finished Ravens’ joint practice with the Washington Commanders on Tuesday but wasn’t on the field on Wednesday as he was undergoing the foot procedure.
The All-Pro cornerback’s injury is another blow to what is now a very thin defensive back room after projected starter and new free agent acquisition Rock Ya-Sin went down earlier this month with a knee injury. Second-year player Damarion “Pepe” Willliams also had surgery on his left ankle this week and is expected to be out until at least October.
Acquired off of waivers by the Ravens in January, Trayvon Mullen is also likely to miss the entirety of the 2023 campaign after he was placed on the non-football injury list on July 28th with a toe issue. Other players in that room including Jalyn Armour-Davis and Arthur Maulet have also been out in the past week with injury.
“There’s two levels of concern. The one level is long term. There’s no long-term concern, and that’s good,” Harbaugh said. “Then, there’s the short-term concern. There’s plenty of short-term concern. We’ve got to look at that, and it starts with the guys you have. We have guys that are ready to play and now have an opportunity to get out there and continue to improve and get the reps. We’ll see what they can do. And, of course we’re always looking for players, too.”
The Ravens gave reps to most of their younger players for Wednesday’s joint practice against the Commanders as Keyvon Seymour, Brandon Stephens, Tae Hayes, and rookies Kyu Blu Kelly, Corey Mayfield Jr, Jordan Swann, and Jeremy Lucien split first and second team reps.
“It definitely hurts the defense when a leader like Marlon is not out there with us,” Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith said regarding Humphrey’s injury. “But I know he’ll get back as soon as he can and we’ll try to pick up the slack when he’s not out there. I’m looking forward to him being out there pretty soon.”
With most of the cornerback room out for an extended period of time with injury, the Ravens will now have to look into the free agent market for replacements. With only three weeks left until the start of the new season, most of the coveted free agent cornerbacks are already signed meaning the team could explore additions via trade.
The Ravens host the Houston Texans in Week 1 and then visit the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. As it stands, the team will lack most of their experienced cornerbacks against Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd in a big divisional showdown, a matchup that has recently been dominated by the Bengals.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Maryland GovPics. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.