The Ravens have ruled out their best pass rusher for Sunday, with free agent edge defender Trey Hendrickson undergoing a procedure to correct a lingering finger issue, head coach Jesse Minter said.
Minter added that he thinks Hendrickson's absence will be "very, very short term," while he is hopeful that star left tackle Ronnie Stanley can return from a toe injury although he did not practice Friday. Minter said he was enthused by the work Stanley put in this week and the team will assess how he feels on game day but he is certainly possible to play against the Titans at M&T Bank Stadium.
"We were able to get the finger fixed," Minter said of Hendrickson, who was paid $30M a year to be a "closer" as Minter dubbed him to fix a failing fourth-quarter defense. General Manager Eric DeCosta has failed consistently to evaluate, draft, sign and identify edge rush, a key component in the defense falling apart the last two seasons.
The pass rush is once again tepid-at-best this season (it's actually worse in some metrics ), and Hendrickson had an immediate impact Week 1 but has tapered off, with the finger injury quite likely a significant reason why. Baltimore's fourth-quarter defense remains soft - bottom eight in pressure rate while hemorrhaging passing yards again - and Hendrickson has just three pressures on 30 fourth-quarter pass reps.
Minter pointed to undrafted rookie linebacker Ethan Burke (a Maryland native) as someone who could benefit from the former Pro Bowlers absence, seeing a path to reps on defense and not just special teams this week. The Ravens defense is struggling in numerous aspects.
Stanley tried to play through the painful injury - turf toe, if that's exactly what Stanley is dealing with, had ended the career of 300-pound linemen - in Week 2 and struggled before making way for youngster Carson Vinson (2025 fifth-round pick). Vinson always seemed like he was in line to start against Dallas in Brazil in Week 3, even though Stanley made the trip, and the Ravens seem hopeful about Stanley playing Sunday though nothing is definitive (he will likely get a designation of some sort on the injury report given his absence today.
The Ravens need all the help they can get up front, with this unit getting overmatched in run blocking , and it was always set up to fail in pass protection , with DeCosta refusing to invest real money and assets in the group. He was able to keep Stanley on the cheap because of acute injury concerns.
Guard Andrew Vorhees, who was a part of a brutal interior line last year, is likely to start again, $10M signing John Simpson has struggled at guard and rookie guard Vega Ioane will make his first start at center opposite arguably the most dominant defensive tackle in the NFL in Tennessee's Jeffery Simmons .
"I think he's handled it really well," Minter said of the youngster's quick transition to another new position.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/ravens/onsi as Ravens Rule Out $30M Pass Rusher Trey Hendrickson, Hopeful Left Tackle Ronnie Stanley Can Play .
