12:43pm: Both Bowser and Ojabo have officially been designated for return. Each suited up for practice Wednesday, marking a good sign about the edge defenders’ near-future availability.
9:10am: The Ravens are moving closer to having their outside linebacker contingent at full strength. Both Tyus Bowser and David Ojabo are expected to practice this week, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets.
Both players are finishing off their recoveries from Achilles tears. Bowser sustained his injury in January, while Ojabo went down in March while preparing for the draft. Bowser is expected to return to practice Wednesday, while Zrebiec adds the Ravens anticipate their second-round pick suiting up for work later this week. Ojabo could return as soon as today. Bowser resides on the Ravens’ reserve/PUP list; Ojabo is on their reserve/NFI list.
Each player practicing this week opens a 21-day activation clock. Baltimore must activate these defenders within three weeks of each’s first practice. The Ravens landed on the wrong side of this equation recently, with Derek Wolfe reverting to season-ending IR after his activation window closed without a move onto the 53-man roster last season. But Bowser and Ojabo’s timetables have not changed this year. Each has been expected to return, with Bowser perhaps a bit ahead of Ojabo. That would make sense, given the timing of each’s injury. Ojabo returning to practice this week puts him in position to beat an initial timetable, one that had the first-round-level talent pegged to debut during the season’s second half.
These injuries have forced the Ravens to be active at the edge rusher position. They re-signed Justin Houston this offseason and added Jason Pierre-Paul early during the regular season. Houston has not played since suffering a groin injury in Week 3, leading to extensive JPP workloads despite his recent Baltimore debut. Pierre-Paul played well in Baltimore’s Week 6 win over Cincinnati, sacking Joe Burrow once and batting down two of his passes.
Bowser, who re-signed with the Ravens on a four-year deal worth $22MM in 2021, and Ojabo debuting soon would form a suddenly deep rotation — one also featuring 2021 first-round pick Odafe Oweh — for a Ravens team that has needed to make some adjustments at this position. Baltimore has used off-ball ‘backer Malik Harrison on the edge at points.