Baltimore Ravens’ practice approach unchanged despite eight on reserve/COVID-19 list
Baltimore (5-2), which plays at Indianapolis (5-2) on Sunday, will practice this week without five linebackers and three defensive backs, a loss that includes four of its top five tacklers.
“You look at it as an opportunity to create versatility within your defense,” Harbaugh said Wednesday.
While All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey is out for Sunday’s game after testing positive, the seven players who were deemed as “high-risk close contacts” to him will be allowed to participate in a walk-through Saturday and fly with the team for Sunday’s game if they pass five straight days of testing.
Joining Humphrey on the reserve/COVID-19 list are four starters: outside linebacker Matthew Judon, inside linebackers Patrick Queen and L.J. Fort and safety DeShon Elliott. The three other players in quarantine are outside linebacker Tyus Bowser, inside linebacker Malik Harrison and cornerback Terrell Bonds.
“We’ve had rough patches around here before, worse than this,” Ravens safety Chuck Clark said. “We are tough here. We are overcomers and we fight through adversity.”
Harbaugh said he hasn’t heard anything about postponing Sunday’s game if more players test positive. The Ravens have had no positive tests the past two days since Humphrey’s positive test.
In practicing Wednesday, Baltimore is now down to two inside linebackers (reserve Chris Board and practice squad member Kristian Welch) and four cornerbacks (Marcus Peters, Jimmy Smith, Khalil Dorsey and practice squad player Nate Hairston).
All the players in isolation are virtually participating in their meetings and workouts from home.
Asked how missing practice all week will affect those players in going against Philip Rivers and the Colts on Sunday, Harbaugh said, “Well, I think we’ll find that out. It’s impossible to predict that. You see guys, sometimes they don’t practice all week and they come out and play the best games of their career. Other guys struggle or might miss something. I don’t spend a lot of time being anxious about that because it’s really a waste of time.”
The Ravens have allowed 18.9 points per game this season, the second fewest in the league.