Injuries ensured that the Baltimore Ravens will not have any of their top three projected running backs from the initial offseason roster this season. So ahead of tonight’s Monday Night Football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, a decision on the starter had to be made.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, neither Le’Veon Bell nor Devonta Smith will be active for tonight’s game against the Raiders. The two Pro Bowlers were signed last week following a season-ending injury to starting running back Gus Edwards.
Instead, the Ravens will be riding with the trio of Ty’Son Williams, Latavius Murray and Trenton Cannon. Neither of them have ever played a down for the Ravens.
Williams joined the Ravens as an undrafted free agent out of BYU in 2020. He was on-and-off the practice squad that year but was re-signed in 2021. Williams was slated to begin the season as the third/fourth string running back before injuries to Edwards, JK Dobbins and Justice Hill.
Murray is an eight-year veteran who began the 2021 offseason with the New Orleans Saints. He was released before the season but signed with Baltimore after the injuries.
Cannon was a sixth-round pick by the New York Jets in 2018 and has played sparingly across 34 games. Last year he was primarily a kick returner for the Carolina Panthers.
Ravens will not be activating Le’Veon Bell or Devonta Freeman from the practice squad to the active roster for the #Raiders game on Monday Night Football, per source. Will be Ty’Son Williams, Latavius Murray and Trenton Cannon at running back.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 13, 2021
We’ve seen teams deal with injuries early in the season countless times before. But rarely has a team’s entire positional room been so thoroughly devastated as the Ravens’ RBs before the season even started.
Were the team not nearly as stacked as they were in almost every other position, they might be the underdogs. But even on the road, the Ravens are still five-point favorites.
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