Injuries becoming huge factor at Ravens training camp

The Baltimore Ravens kicked off their 2021 training camp in late-July with high hopes for what their team could accomplish before the start of the regular season. While they’ve seen plenty of positive developments from a number of their players, a major storyline is beginning to overshadow some of the other things that have happened at camp so far.

Football is a physical sport that will result in injuries for every team. However, Baltimore has dealt with an onslaught of injuries ever since practice began, as through early-August they’ve seen a growing list of players go down with ailments.

Some of the players to suffer and injury during practice and miss time include wide receivers Marquise Brown, Miles Boykin, Rashod Bateman and Deon Cain, offensive linemen Kevin Zeitler and Bradley Bozeman, as well as defensive backs Jimmy Smith and Nigel Warrior. That doesn’t even include players who missed time with COVID related absences in quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Gus Edwards.

Despite the injuries so far, luckily none of them have been season-ending. Most of them are regarded as minor, but there are a few such as with Bateman and Smith that might take a bit longer to heal.

One of the reasons why so many Ravens going down early in training camp is a big deal is because of the reps that injuries cost players. For roster hopefuls such as Miles Boykin, Deon Cain and Nigel Warrior, they’re losing out on snaps that are now being given to their competition. While Boykin has begun camp a bit slow, Cain and Warrior were off to great starts, but missing enough time could keep them on the outside looking in.

Another big thing to look at when it comes to so many players being out of practice is continuity. For example, on the offensive line Baltimore has had to use many different combinations and move guys around, something that can be problematic early on once it’s actually time to have a one specific group play together long-term and establish chemistry. With Zeitler and Bozeman being out, as well as Ronnie Stanley slowly coming back from an injury, it will be important for the starting group of linemen to get familiar with each other as quickly as possible.

It’s been unfortunate how many injuries the Ravens have had to deal with since they’ve opened training camp. A big priority for them is getting their injured players back at full strength, but in the meantime, they do have plenty of depth to work through the remainder of training camp, the preseason, and even the regular season if need be.