Report: Ravens fear OLB Tyus Bowser suffered torn Achilles in season finale

Another one bites the dust in the final game of the season.

The Baltimore Ravens 2021 season came to a gut-wrenching and unceremonious close on Sunday in a 16-13 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. As if dropping their sixth straight game wasn’t bad enough, they may have had another starting player suffer a major injury.

Bowser went down with just under eight minutes left in the game as the Ravens were trying to cling to a four-point lead. He couldn’t walk under his own power, had to be helped off the field by members of the training staff, and didn’t return with what was reported as an ankle injury at the time.

The fifth-year edge defender signed a four-year extension last offseason and is coming off the best season of his career where he led the team with a career-high seven sacks. He also recorded 52 combined tackles including six for a loss, four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and the second most quarterback hits on the team with 15.

If Bowser did suffer a torn Achilles tendon, he would join the long laundry list of stars, starters, and key role players that will be recovering from a major injury this offseason. He would have to undergo surgery to repair it will be spending a lot of time rehabbing alongside players like Ronnie Stanley, J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, LJ Fort, DeShon Elliott—if he is re-signed—and others who finished the year on injured reserve.

His availability for the start of the 2022 regular season might be unclear depending on the confirmation and severity of the injury. A positive diagnosis would likely mean a much larger role for a sophomore Daelin Hayes in training camp and early on in the year. He will be heading into his second season after spending most of his first on injured reserve with a knee injury but he has the potential to develop into a solid SAM linebacker behind Bowser.