J.K. Dobbins carted off after apparent knee injury

Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins was hurt on the team’s first possession of their preseason finale.

The NFL preseason winds down this weekend, and all 32 teams are hoping to accomplish the same goal.

Get through the final slate of preseason games while avoiding any serious injuries.

Unfortunately, it seems like the Baltimore Ravens might not have met that goal.

On the Ravens’ first drive of their preseason finale against the Washington Football Team, Dobbins took in a short screen pass on the left side of the Baltimore offense and looked for yardage upfield. He was chopped down by a pair of Washington defenders did not get up:

You can see his left knee buckle on this replay angle, as well as Dobbins being helped up by teammates:

Dobbins was helped off the field and taken to the medical tent. After being examined, he was then taken to the locker room via a cart:

While the Ravens await word on the extent of the injury, Mario Pilato, the injury expert at Pro Football Focus, outlined some possibilities based on the video:

Trevor Sikkema, also of Pro Football Focus, summed up what much of the football world was feeling:

Injuries are unfortunately part of the sport, and you never want to see a player suffer an injury like this in a preseason game. With the NFL placing a bye week between the third and final preseason game, and the start of the regular season, more starter-level players like Dobbins are seeing the field in this final preseason tune-up, as coaches want to avoid players having a long layoff between games. Whether this is changed next year is likely to be debated in the coming months.