The Baltimore Ravens, already thin at a number of positions due to injuries, got even more injured in Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots. On Tuesday, Baltimore made some roster moves to remedy the situation, putting Nick Boyle and Terrell Bonds on injured reserve while elevating Geno Stone from the practice squad and signing Luke Wilson to replace his spot.
It was fairly obvious on the field but coach John Harbaugh confirmed Boyle had suffered a season-ending knee injury. After trading Hayden Hurst to the Atlanta Falcons this offseason, that leaves the Ravens with Mark Andrews as the only tight end on a team that loves multiple-tight-end sets. Remedying the lack of depth, Baltimore announced they signed veteran tight end Luke Wilson to the practice squad.
Wilson has been around the league for quite some time, primarily with the Seattle Seahawks, entering the NFL as a fifth-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Over eight years in the league, Wilson has caught 110 passes for 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was most recently with Seattle, playing just 10 offensive snaps over five games this season before getting cut two weeks ago.
Though Wilson isn’t much of a receiving threat, neither was Boyle. Where Baltimore will primarily use him is as an in-line blocker with the potential to run routes and get involved in the passing game that way. With Boyle being so important to the success of the rushing attack, Wilson will have big shoes to fill if he gets called up from the practice squad.
In addition to Wilson’s signing, the Ravens brought back rookie safety Geno Stone from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Stone had been among the players elevated from the practice squad the last two weeks, ending the number of times he could be brought up for gameday. However, in both games, Stone’s primary role was on special teams, seeing just two total defensive snaps compared to 38 special-teams snaps.
Bonds landing on injured reserve makes the fifth cornerback placed on the list by Baltimore this season — joining Anthony Averett, Tavon Young, Iman Marshall, and Khalil Dorsey. The Ravens have done an excellent job with a “next man up” philosophy but the injuries are beginning to take their toll on the team as they reach the second half of the 2020 season.
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