Ravens Designate RB Kenneth Dixon For Return
Ravens running back Kenneth Dixon has been designated to return from injured reserve and will practice on Friday, the club announced today.
Dixon was placed on IR in early September after suffering a knee injury in Baltimore’s season opener, but there was always an expectation that he could return. A fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, Dixon hasn’t seen game action since his rookie campaign, as a torn meniscus kept him off the field in 2017. He was also handed a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, although he was able to serve that ban while on IR.
Dixon is now the second Ravens player — joining cornerback Maurice Canady — who has been designated to return from injured reserve this year. Each NFL club only gets to bring two players off IR, so other injured Ravens, such as defender Willie Henry, are now officially done for the year. Now that Dixon is back at practice, Baltimore has three weeks to decide whether to activate him to its 53-man roster, or leave him on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
If he is able to come back, Dixon — who managed 4.3 yards per carry on 88 rushes in his rookie year — would join Alex Collins, Javorius Allen, recent trade acquisition Ty Montgomery, and rookie Gus Edwards in the Ravens’ backfield.
Ravens CB Jaylen Hill Returns To Practice
- Ravens cornerback Jaylen Hill has been on the physically unable to perform list all season after tearing his ACL last December, but the second-year defensive back returned to practice today, the club announced. Hill, who joins Maurice Canady as the second Baltimore cornerback to come back to practice this week, played in six games for the Ravens in 2017 after going undrafted out of Jacksonville State. Baltimore now opens a three-week window during which it must either activate Hill or leave him on PUP for the remainder of the year.
Returned To Practice: Foreman, Canady
With more than half of the 2018 campaign in the books, NFL clubs are beginning to activate injured players who were previously placed on various reserve lists (injured reserve, non-football injury list, physically unable to perform list, etc.). A couple of notable players who were on said lists returned to practice this week, and we’ll take a closer look at their respective situations below:
- Texans running back D’Onta Foreman returned to practice on Wednesday, head coach Bill O’Brien told reporters, including Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Foreman, 22, tore his Achilles last November and has taken a full year to recover — he began the 2018 regular season on the PUP list and has resided there ever since. A third-round pick in the 2017 draft, Foreman managed 78 attempts for 327 yards and two touchdowns in his abbreviated rookie campaign. Houston’s rushing offense currently ranks just 29th in efficiency, per Football Outsiders, and while much of those struggles can be attributed to a poor offensive line, Foreman could be part of an improvement while seeing snaps behind Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue. Now that he’s back at practice, Blue can be activate at any point during the next three weeks.
- The Ravens have designated cornerback Maurice Canady to return from injured reserve, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Canady, a 2016 draft selection, has actually been placed on IR in each of his three NFL campaigns. Last season, a thigh issue — the same injury that knocked him out earlier this year — was the culprit, but Canady eventually came off IR in November. Baltimore, of course, already has top-end talent at cornerback, with Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Carr, and Tavon Young seeing most of the snaps in the Ravens’ secondary, but Canady could see special teams action if he comes back. Like Foreman, Canady’s return to practice opens a three-week window during which Baltimore must either place him on its 53-man roster or leave him on IR for the rest of the year.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/14/18
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Rick Leonard
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB Tyler Ervin
- Released: DB Makinton Dorleant
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DB David Jones
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: OL Rees Odhiambo
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Rashard Davis, WR ArDarius Stewart
Washington Redskins
John Harbaugh, Ravens Likely To Part Ways After Season; Latest On Joe Flacco
We learned last week that Ravens HC John Harbaugh is on the hot seat, and the team’s Week 9 loss to the division-rival Steelers did not do him any favors. Today, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that Baltimore and Harbaugh are indeed heading for a “mutual parting of the ways.” While it is highly unlikely that Harbaugh will be fired before the end of the season — there is, after all, no dysfunction in the locker room and there are no obvious in-house candidates to replace Harbaugh — La Canfora says that 2018 is likely to be Harbaugh’s last on the Ravens’ sidelines. With the team transitioning to a new GM and facing a potential roster overhaul, both parties appear prepared to move on amicably.
- One name who could be part of the Ravens‘ above-referenced overhaul, of course, is quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco is battling a hip injury and has been spotted on crutches, though Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network describes the injury as more of a day-to-day malady than a week-to-week one (video link). So if Flacco can practice when the Ravens return to the field in a couple of days — they are on a bye this week — he will likely play. But Rapoport says Baltimore is “relishing” the uncertainty that the situation is creating for the team’s next opponent, the Bengals, and he expects first-round pick Lamar Jackson to get increased snaps whether Flacco plays or not.
- As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com observes, Flacco’s injury does have a silver lining for the Ravens. If he is unable to suit up for next week’s game or for the next several games, Baltimore would have a better idea of where Jackson is at the moment — he is reportedly still struggling in practice — which would allow the club to better determine whether to retain Flacco in 2019 or move on.
- Rapoport tweets that Bengals WR A.J. Green is “likely” to miss next week’s game against the Ravens, though there is a chance he will be able to suit up. That is a rosier outlook than the one presented by Schefter, who said earlier this week that Green will definitely miss the Ravens game and could miss multiple games after that. Schefter doubled down on that report today, saying that a December return is looking increasingly likely (Twitter link). Rapoport says 2018 seventh-rounder Auden Tate, who was waived last month but who was signed to the practice squad just one day later, has impressed and will see plenty of snaps in Green’s absence. Tate was promoted from the practice squad on Monday.
Flacco On Crutches
- It was reported earlier this week that Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was dealing with a mysterious hip injury, and now we have some more concerning news. Flacco has reportedly been spotted on crutches, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link), a sign that the injury is pretty serious. Whatever Flacco is dealing with, it clearly isn’t something minor and he should be considered very likely to miss games at this point.
Joe Flacco Dealing With Hip Injury
As the Ravens attempt to vie for a playoff berth, they may have an issue at quarterback. Joe Flacco‘s now dealing with a hip injury, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zreibec. Flacco’s status for next week’s game is in jeopardy, Zreibec reports (subscription required).
Currently in their bye week, the Ravens are ramping up Lamar Jackson for a possible Week 11 starting debut. Flacco is seeking medical opinions, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, who adds Baltimore’s course of action may not be known until next week (Twitter links). But it may well be trending in the direction of Jackson moving into a starting role for the time being.
Zreibec reports Flacco suffered this injury on the Ravens’ sixth offensive play against the Steelers last week. Flacco played through the issue last week and was seen limping in the locker room postgame. The Ravens are obviously concerned their longtime starter won’t be able to take the snaps next week.
Jackson has taken snaps this season in specialty packages, as an admittedly uninspired Flacco lines up at wide receiver, but has only attempted 12 passes. The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner completed seven of those. He’s run for 139 yards on 28 carries.
The rookie was not viewed to be as refined of a passing prospect as the four other quarterbacks drafted in the first round, and the Ravens were not looking at promoting Jackson yet. However, La Canfora notes they do want to see more of the Louisville product. That may well happen soon. Home games against the Bengals and Raiders represent the next assignments on the Ravens’ schedule.
Flacco has missed just six starts in an 11-year career. All of those came in 2015 due to a torn ACL.
Ravens Don't Intend To Bench Flacco For Jackson
- The Ravens don’t have any intention of benching starting quarterback Joe Flacco for first-round rookie Lamar Jackson, but they do want to advance their usage of the Louisville product, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “He’s getting better as a quarterback, an NFL quarterback, all the time. You know, I love the guy,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said of Jackson. “I want to see Lamar on the field, too. How to do that? That’s kind of what we’re working through, so that’s what we’ve got to figure out.” Jackson, 21, has rushed 28 times for 139 yards and one touchdown and completed seven-of-twelve passing attempts for 87 yards and another score. Meanwhile, among quarterbacks with at least 250 attempts, starter Joe Flacco ranks 17th in adjusted net yards per attempt and 18th in passer rating.
Patriots Expected To Sign Albert McClellan
Cut to make room for Ty Montgomery on the Ravens’ roster, Albert McClellan may not be going back to Baltimore as he did previously this year.
The Patriots worked out McClellan on Monday and plan to sign the free agent defender, Jeff Zreibec of The Athletic reports (Twitter links.)
The Ravens cut McClellan, who’s been a key special teams presence and part-time starter at linebacker for most of this decade in Baltimore, out of training camp but re-signed him in mid-September. The Ravens wanted to bring back the 32-year-old veteran again, per Zreibec, but their injury situation didn’t give them room for such a move in their view.
It appears McClellan will return to New England after his workout. McClellan’s only played for the Ravens in an eight-year career. He played in 96 Baltimore games, making 24 starts, and saw action in all four playoff games en route to the franchise’s Super Bowl XLVII victory.
A team known somewhat for valuing special-teamers, the Patriots were also missing Nicholas Grigsby due to an illness in Week 9 and have rookie Ja’Whaun Bentley on IR.
Harbaugh Not Worried About Job Security
Earlier today, it was reported that Ravens coach John Harbaugh was on the hot seat. It was reported Harbaugh was under “mounting pressure” to turn his team’s season around, and things didn’t get any better today. The team lost to the Steelers and slipped below .500, but despite the loss Harbaugh wasn’t sweating the media reports after the game.
Harbaugh “certainly didn’t act worried” during his post-game press conference, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Harbaugh didn’t sound like he was worried about his job security even though the team dropped its third straight game today. Harbaugh has had a ton of success during his tenure in Baltimore, but things have been rocky the past couple of years and the Ravens reportedly considered parting ways after last season. Despite his defiant tone today, it certainly seems like the 11-year Harbaugh era in Baltimore could be coming to a close. The Ravens are heading into their bye week, so it’s possible we hear news of a switch as early as this week.