When the injury bug bites, resilient teams don’t blink.
The Ravens (4-1) are taking that approach into Sunday’s road game against the Cleveland Browns (3-2), with Lamar Jackson (ankle) out for the second straight game.
Every team in the league has health concerns, as evidenced by the size of injury reports around the league. The Ravens and Browns combined for nearly 40 players on their injury reports this week.
However, the Ravens have won the last three times that Tyler Huntley has started and are poised to rally again around their popular No. 2 quarterback.
“He’s got a great demeanor,” Head Coach Jesse Minter said. “He has great respect amongst his teammates. He’s just an infectious personality. Infectious can be different, but he’s just cool, calm, collected, confident. When he’s in there, that’s kind of how the guys feel, and it’s really no different with Lamar.
“When you’re the next guy in, to have that, I think it goes a long way with guys. We won’t bat an eye with ‘Snoop’ being in there, and we’ll go shoot our shot this week.”
Here are my thoughts on the Ravens heading into Week 6, all in 50 words or less:
Trey Hendrickson, the Ravens’ most accomplished pass rusher, will return on Sunday after a two-game absence. Cleveland surrendered eight sacks last weekend against the New York Jets. Even if the Browns double-team Hendrickson, I think Baltimore’s pass rush will be a problem for Cleveland.It’s not just Hendrickson who Cleveland’s offense must worry about. Mike Green has risen over the past couple weeks, putting pressure on quarterbacks and playing the run with physicality. Baltimore’s second-round pick last season is blossoming and making the most of his snaps.