As if losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-19, on Sunday wasn’t bad enough, the Ravens might also be forced to play the remainder of the season without their two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey.
The NFL Network reported after the game that Humphrey suffered a shoulder injury and could miss the rest of the season.
Humphrey appeared to injure his right shoulder while trying to prevent Pittsburgh wide receiver Diontae Johnson from diving into the end zone to complete a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Humphrey “has an issue,” but declined to get into specifics.
“We’ll get an MRI, but it could be a while for Marlon,” Harbaugh said. “So we’ll see.”
If Humphrey is out, the secondary will play the remainder of the season without its top two cornerbacks. Marcus Peters has been on injured reserve since Sept. 9 after he tore his ACL during practice.
Nose tackle Brandon Williams said the onus would be on the team to absorb Humphrey’s injury and not let it impede its progress.
“We’ve got a lot of injuries,” he said. “So we’ve been dealing with stress all season, and we’ve been able to overcome it. So that’s what we plan on doing. … The show must go on. We pray that Marlon makes it back, we pray that everybody who is down right now gets healed up. But we’ve still got games to play. Next week, we’ve got the Browns, and we’ve got to focus on that.”
Their absence would leave the secondary with Tavon Young, Anthony Averett, Jimmy Smith and Chris Westry. Averett leads the defense in interceptions with two, but he was on the wrong end of a 40-yard completion from Roethlisberger to wide receiver Chase Claypool and then a 29-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Johnson on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter.
Young is the team’s top slot cornerback. Smith (neck) played sparingly Sunday after not practicing Friday, and Westry was deactivated Sunday due to a thigh ailment.