Tag: Tavon Young injury

Marlon Humphrey, other Ravens to rotate into slot to fill void left by Tavon Young’s injury

According to cornerback Marlon Humphrey, the Baltimore Ravens will use him and others to rotate into the slot after Tavon Young’s injury

For the second consecutive season, cornerback Tavon Young will not be in a Baltimore Ravens uniform and helmet against the Kansas City Chiefs. Young suffered a knee injury in Week 2 against the Houston Texans that is believed to be season-ending. It’s a huge blow to Baltimore’s secondary but one it’s used to overcoming.

Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey was quick to note just how big of a loss Young’s injury is to the defense.

“Losing ‘Tay’ [Tavon Young] was rough,” Humphrey said Wednesday. “We haven’t gone on the field yet to see what adjustments exactly we’re going to make. We’re still trying to figure out some of the kinks and the different things without having ‘Tay,’ but Tavon is not really a guy you can really replace. We call him a ‘Pitbull,’ just because he’s small, but he has a big bite.”

When healthy, Young is one of the better slot defenders in the league. It’s the reason why Eric DeCosta gave Young a three-year contract extension as one of his first moves as the new general manager after replacing Ozzie Newsome. At the time, Young’s extension made him the highest-paid slot cornerback in the league, something that was quickly surpassed later that offseason.

However, that gamble hasn’t really paid off for the Ravens with Young missing all of the 2019 season due to a neck injury and slated to miss 14 regular-season games this season with a knee injury. In total, Young will have missed 47-of-80 games due to injury over five years by the end of this season if he heads to injured reserve.

Baltimore overcame Young’s absence last season by moving Humphrey to the slot and adding Marcus Peters via a trade with the Los Angeles Rams. Though Humphrey was playing out of position, he still impressed enough to earn his first Pro Bowl nomination. This season, defensive coordinator Don Martindale could choose to rotate a few players into the slot depending on matchups. At least that’s what Humphrey pointed to.

“Like I said, we haven’t figured out the gameplan yet, but I’ll be in there. I think some other guys will be in there,” Humphrey continued. “It’ll be rotating all around, so I’ll be outside, I’ll be inside. You just never know who’s going to be in there. It just depends on the formation, who they have in, and what package the coaches feel like is best once it all gets settled down and we finish up the gameplan.”

That would fit with what our expectations were following Young’s injury. Third-year cornerback Anthony Averett is likely to get a significant boost to his snap count, being the primary replacement. But if the Ravens face a group of larger receivers, it might make sense to slide Jimmy Smith inside instead. Of course, Baltimore has safeties that could come down into that role as well, with Nigel Warrior and Geno Stone having the speed to play more coverage. With Martindale at the helm of this defense, expecting the unexpected might just be the wisest thing, and as we’ve seen already this season, outside linebacker Matthew Judon has dropped back into coverage a bunch.

The best thing would be having Young starting in the slot. But with some creativity and a wealth of talent in the secondary, the Ravens can call on everyone to step up and make it work.

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What loss of CB Tavon Young means for Ravens’ defense moving forward

The Baltimore Ravens appear to have lost cornerback Tavon Young with a season-ending knee injury. How does that impact the Ravens defense?

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Though the Baltimore Ravens sit at 2-0, they now have a big question to answer ahead of a crucial matchup against the also undefeated Kansas City Chiefs next week. With it believed cornerback Tavon Young suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Houston Texans, Baltimore’s defense will clearly be impacted moving forward.

Young was having a pretty great start to his 2020 campaign, helping Baltimore completely shut down quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns’ explosive offense last week. The Ravens’ defense was off to a good start against Houston before Young went down in the first quarter. Prior to Young’s departure, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson had gone 3-of-4 for 24 yards and was heading towards two short drives without points.

Without Young in the lineup, Baltimore turned to cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Anthony Averett to fill the void. Defensive coordinator Don Martindale moved the cornerbacks around trying to find an effective matchup but it was an area of the field Watson focused on as evidenced by his throw chart from Next Gen Stats.

With only five cornerbacks on the 53-man roster entering this game, it’s clear Baltimore is going to have to add at least one player to the depth chart just to have enough cornerbacks for a game. But moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see exactly how Martindale and the Ravens more permanently fill Young’s spot this season.

Last year with Young on injured reserve with a neck injury, the job fell to Marlon Humphrey. Though Humphrey earned a Pro Bowl nomination on the back of his performance, he was playing out of position and it put more strain on the outside cornerbacks to cover the difference while also handcuffing one of their best defensive players by forcing him into an unfamiliar role. While Martindale could once again move Humphrey inside and put Smith outside, it might be time for Baltimore to really see what they’ve got in Averett.

This is Averett’s third year in the league, so he should have the Ravens’ defensive scheme pretty well figured out by now. Averett is also fast enough for the job, running a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine. Though he’s been underwhelming over the last two years, a trial-by-fire approach with some safety and linebacker help might just be the remedy to getting Averett valuable in-game experience. More importantly, it allows Baltimore to see if Averett is capable of being a starter-quality cornerback for the future, something they’ll have to seriously contemplate with Young likely heading to injured reserve for his third season out of five years in the league.

Few NFL teams have a Pro Bowl cornerback and the Ravens are lucky enough to have two in Humphrey and Marcus Peters. While Averett might not be the perfect answer for Young’s absence, Baltimore has enough talent to make up the difference there.

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CB Tavon Young is back healthy and playing better than ever before

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Tavon Young has been turning heads at training camp after missing all of last season with a neck injury.

The Baltimore Ravens might have the most dangerous secondary in the entire NFL right now. Even though the team just cut Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas following a fight with fellow safety Chuck Clark, it’s hard to ignore just how deep and impressive the roster is on the backend. What makes the group even more exciting is getting cornerback Tavon Young back healthy and playing at a high level again.

Young missed the entire 2019 season with a neck injury, but he has done nothing but turn heads with his performances in camp so far. Baltimore pass defense coordinator Chris Hewitt said earlier this week that having Young back on the field was like “having another first-round draft pick coming back.”

Speaking to the media on a Zoom call on Tuesday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh remarked that Young “looked great,” noting that he looked “like he picked up right where he left off before.” Harbaugh also added that he “can’t wait to see him play this year” and believes Young is a “special kind of guy.”

It wasn’t only the coaching staff that had words of praise for Young. Outside linebacker Tyus Bowser also had nothing but good things to say about his returning teammate.

“He has a strong mindset. He has great pride in himself and he’s definitely confident in himself to go out there and come back and be who he is. I feel like he’s even better than what he was before. You can see it out there. He’s playing fast, he’s moving fast, and it’s great to see that. It’s great to see him back on the field. I missed him from these last couple of years. I’m definitely looking forward to this year to see what he can do.”

Defensive end Derek Wolfe is a newer member of the Ravens after coming over from the Denver Broncos this offseason via free agency. But just because Wolfe is a newcomer to the team, he wasn’t shy about what he has seen so far, noting that Young’s ability “is unbelievable” and that “the sky is the limit” for him.

Young certainly seems to be enjoying himself and performing like a top cornerback throughout training camp. He’s stuck to his assigned receivers like glue, according to BaltimoreRavens.com writer Ryan Mink, despite seemingly being outmatched at times physically. Young has beaten bigger guys like tight end Mark Andrews, and faster guys like Marquise Brown, according to Press Box’s Bo Smolka.

If Young can pick up right where he left off, both he and the Ravens will be in good shape. Though Young has missed two of the four years he’s been in the league, he’s been productive when he’s been on the field. In 31 games, Young has come down with three interceptions, four fumble recoveries (including two returned for touchdowns), two sacks, and 90 combined tackles.

Young has also taken a bit of a leadership role as well. After the unfortunate situation with Thomas, Young was quick to point out that the secondary would move on after the unfortunate events of the weekend.

“We all have a tight camaraderie and we’re a tight group. The main thing is communication, and we all have that. Everybody knows the playbook. It’s been cool.”

The Ravens defensive backfield will certainly look a little different in 2020 than it did a year ago. But if Tavon Young can continue in his current vein, that may not be such a bad thing.

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Ravens DC Don Martindale excited about potentially healthy CB Tavon Young

The Baltimore Ravens slot cornerback could be ready to return after missing 2019, getting defensive coordinator Don Martindale excited

The Baltimore Ravens’ pass defense was one of the strengths of the team last season, as defensive coordinator Don Martindale’s charges allowed the sixth fewest passing yards in the whole league. Only the New England Patriots allowed a lower completion percentage than the Ravens, against whom opponents completed just 58.5% of their passes. It was with some degree of justification that three members of the Ravens defensive backfield — namely Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, and Earl Thomas — were named All-Pros last year.

But there is a drumbeat building around how this group could be improved this season. It’s not because of a new face in the defensive backs room but rather a familiar one. Cornerback Tavon Young missed the entire 2019 season with a serious neck injury, but he could be set to return for 2020 — at least according to him.

“He says he’s healthy,” Martindale said in a video conference with reporters last week. “He’s ready to go. Tavon is ready to go, and if he tells me he’s ready to go, I believe in him 100 percent. And he’ll be ready to go, so I’m excited about that.”

Having Young back would allow Humphrey to move back to the outside cornerback spot. Humphrey played inside on 50.2% of his snaps last season, according to Player Profiler, compared to just 4.8% in 2018 when Young played 15 games. The last time we saw Young, he was earning the highest contract for a slot cornerback after his 2018 deeds.

But (and there is a big but) no one has said that Young is definitely going to be back on the field, never mind at his best. In the same interview, Martindale joked that Young “looks healthy on the computer.” There does not appear to be any word from medical experts regarding Young’s health, and whether he has been medically cleared to resume playing.

It would be one thing if Young, as good as he has been when on the field, has been a picture of health through his career. However, that has not been the case. As well as the neck injury, Young missed the entire 2017 season with a torn ACL, while also battling hip and ankle injuries during the 2018 season. Since being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Young has missed 33 of 64 possible regular-season games.

A fully fit and healthy Young would give Martindale another weapon to deploy against opposing offenses in 2020. But until we get confirmation that he is good to go, Baltimore is simply hoping Young is 100% and ready to roll.

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