The Baltimore Ravens were hit hard by the injury bug in 2021. They lost numerous key players over the course of the year, ranging from before the season started all the way until their final game in Week 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Two of the players that went down were offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley and outside linebacker Tyus Bowser. Stanley suffered a brutal ankle injury in the middle of the 2020 season, and was only able to play in the team’s opening game against the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021 before opting for another surgery. Bowser suffered a torn achilles in Week 18, ending what otherwise was a great season on a sour note. Head coach John Harbaugh spoke about the recoveries of both players, providing updates on where they are.
“Yes, I’m going to say that I’d like to see them out there for three weeks. Now, is that going to be possible for Week One? Will they be ready? Will that be enough? Ronnie [Stanley] and Tyus [Bowser] have both gone really hard with the conditioning. I watched Ronnie out here before practice with the trainer. He looks like he’s in really good shape, and Tyus looks like he’s in really good shape. So, could you speed it up a little bit if they look really great at practice? You probably could. We’ll just have to see how it goes, and see how they feel. A lot of it is how the player feels at that point.”
Both players are extremely important to the team, but it’s imperative that they aren’t rushed back from two very serious injuries. Bowser’s status for Week 1 has seemed somewhat iffy based off of the timing of his injury, but many have expected Stanley to return in some capacity before the opening game begins. Either way, both players will certianly be out there when they’re ready to go, at this point it’s just a matter of when.