Ravens Fear ACL Tears For Marcus Peters, Gus Edwards

7:12pm: Edwards’ ACL tear has been confirmed. Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Ravens running back indeed suffered the season-ending injury. The organization will soon have three RBs sitting on IR.

6:58pm: The Ravens will be without at least one of these starters this season. Peters’ MRI confirmed an ACL tear, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This will be the All-Pro corner’s first significant injury as a pro. Edwards’ tear has yet to be confirmed.

2:57pm: Injuries have already impacted the Ravens considerably coming into the season. Thursday’s practice brought more trouble. The team cut its workout short after Marcus Peters and Gus Edwards suffered knee injuries, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Peters and Edwards went down on consecutive plays, and Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) team is concerned the maladies are severe. Indeed, the Ravens fear both players suffered ACL tears, Rapoport adds (on Twitter). Each is undergoing tests. Both injuries are believed to be of the non-contact variety, NFL.com’s Peter Schrager tweets.

Edwards is the last man standing among Baltimore’s running backs, at least among those on last year’s squad, while Peters is entering his third season as a key Baltimore starter. The Ravens have already lost starting running back J.K. Dobbins and third-year reserve Justice Hill for the season.

Baltimore is down to second-year UDFA Ty’Son Williams at running back. Williams, interestingly, has worked his way back from an ACL tear sustained during the 2019 season while at BYU. The Ravens signed veteran special-teamer Trenton Cannon on Wednesday and have Le’Veon Bell stashed on their practice squad. Both moves take on greater importance after this Edwards development.

The Ravens are already set to begin their season without first-round pick Rashod Bateman, who is on IR after suffering a groin injury that required surgery early in training camp. Edwards was set to be Baltimore’s starter, after three straight seasons of 700-plus rushing yards north of 5.0 yards per carry. The Ravens extended the former UDFA back on a three-year, $12.38MM deal earlier this summer.

Peters signed a three-year, $42MM extension near the end of his first season in Maryland. He has been the NFL’s top turnover producer during his six-year NFL tenure. The former Chiefs first-round pick and Rams Super Bowl starter is going into his age-28 season. In 23 Raven games, Peters already has seven interceptions and four forced fumbles. Peters’ deal runs through 2022.

Beyond Bell and Cannon, the Ravens could certainly reach out to Latavius Murray, whom the Saints just released after he refused a pay cut. Todd Gurley is also available, joining Kerryon Johnson, Lamar Miller, Alfred Morris and Adrian Peterson in that regard. Replacing Peters would be much tougher for the franchise. The Ravens do possess some cornerback depth, however, with 11th-year veteran Jimmy Smith still in place behind boundary starters Peters and Marlon Humphrey. Smith, however, missed a few weeks of practice after suffering a sprained ankle during camp.

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