Injuries Pile Up in Baltimore
It is astonishing how quickly the outlook for a season can change in the blink of an eye. The Baltimore Ravens were heavy favorites to win the AFC North and represent the AFC in Super Bowl LX in February, but now, Baltimore is trying to reach .500 and make the playoffs. There have been some questionable coaching decisions, combined with an extremely tough early-season schedule, and now, a slew of injuries that severely dampen the chances of the Ravens even making the playoffs in 2025. The Ravens opened the season with three of four games against 2024 playoff teams, losing all three of them in the most gut-wrenching way imaginable: self-inflicted wounds. After a 41-40 loss to Buffalo, a 38-30 loss to Detroit, and, most recently, a 37-20 loss to Kansas City, the Ravens’ only positive so far in 2025 was defeating the now 1-3 Cleveland Browns by a decisive score of 41-17. Baltimore is one of three teams to have put up over 130 points through four weeks, but they also lead the league in points allowed with 133. Most of the blame can be placed on the defense, but it is hard to place blame on a team that has been off the field for much of these losses.
Injuries Before Week Four
Starting in training camp, Isaiah Likely and Patrick Ricard were both dealing with injuries. Likely, a broken foot and Pat Ricard, a calf injury. Fortunately, Likely returned to the field for the Week Four loss to KC, but was not targeted. John Harbaugh did not comment on whether it would be nice to have Ricard back, but rather mentioned how good a job Zaire Mitchell-Paden did with a small number of snaps. Hopefully, Ricard can find his way back to the field before Baltimore’s Week Seven bye week, considering he has not practiced since mid-August. Another player who has not practiced in a handful of weeks is Jaire Alexander. Alexander played in the Week One loss to Buffalo and supposedly tweaked the same knee that was injured in 2024, keeping him out in the present.
Nnamdi Madubuike played in just over 50% of the defensive snaps in Weeks One and Two, recording seven total tackles and two sacks, but then was added to the injury report with a neck injury. The two-time Pro Bowler was quickly ruled out for the game against the Lions, but fans were not given any information about the severity or when the injury occurred. The lack of transparency continued into the preparation for Week Four, where Madubuike was again ruled out early in the week, with no update, and was placed on injured reserve along with fellow defensive lineman Broderick Washington due to an ankle injury. It was not until Monday’s press conference that Harbaugh announced Madubuike would not play for the rest of the season, drawing huge concerns for the health of a staple to the Ravens' front seven. The Ravens were also without DT Travis Jones in Sunday’s loss, due to a knee injury, and LB Kyle Van Noy due to a hamstring strain, but fans can remain optimistic of a return sooner rather than later for both players.
Injuries in Sunday’s Loss to KC
If being down two offensive and four defensive starters going into a must-win game wasn’t bad enough, the Ravens were without a handful of starters for part of the efforts that made them 1-3. LT Ronnie Stanley was dealing with an ankle injury in the days leading up to the game, started, but then was removed in the first quarter after Lamar Jackson’s first interception of the season, for Joseph Noteboom, who was a 2025 free agent addition. Later in the game, the Ravens would be without starting CB Marlon Humphrey due to a calf injury, LB Roquan Smith with a hamstring injury, and CB Nate Wiggins with an elbow injury. The Ravens’ defense was not playing to their historical ways so far in 2025, allowing a league high 415 yards per game, but the outlook seems worse knowing that both Smith and Humphrey are expected to miss multiple games due to the injuries suffered on Sunday. No update was given on Wiggins as of Monday afternoon.
Last, but unfortunately not the least impactful injury to come out of Sunday’s depressing loss, was Lamar Jackson exiting the game early in the fourth quarter, already down big, due to a hamstring injury. Completing his first five passes on the way to a dominant first drive that ended in a touchdown, Lamar looked like a different QB in the drives that followed. Lamar was taken down awkwardly and bounced back up, but jogged off the field. No one immediately knew Lamar was injured until Tracy Wolfson reported that backup QB Cooper Rush would be entering the game, showing Lamar sitting on the bench with ice wrapped around the back of his leg near his knee. John Harbaugh said in the Monday press conference that if Lamar felt he could have played, he would have been in. “That’s how Lamar is.” Jackson's availability is now put into question for the Week Five game against the Texans, who just shut out the Titans, leaving Cooper Rush to potentially start and Tyler Huntley to come off the practice squad to back up the former Cowboys’ backup QB.
Is the Season Over?
No, the season is not over. Although it certainly feels that way, there are a lot of positives to hold onto while information comes out over the next few days. The Ravens host the Texans and Rams before having a bye week in Week Seven. Then they host the Bears before quickly traveling to Miami for Thursday Night Football. These next few games will be the deciding factor on the Ravens’ playoff chances, but it is undoubtedly easier now that the brunt of the schedule is over. Fans will have to stay close to the phone for updates on Lamar, Stanley, and Wiggins while praying that Roquan, Humphrey, and the other injured defensive starters can return before it is too late. “Everybody gets injured over the course of the season,” Harbaugh explained. “It’s who deals with them the best.” With the Steelers sitting pretty at the top of the division at 3-1, the Ravens will have to figure out how to turn it around with a team full of backups and rookies if they want to be a part of the 35 teams since 1990 or five teams since 2020 to make the playoffs after a 1-3 start.
