Tavon Young Injury Has Trickle Down Effect
No one likes to see anyone get injured and no one wants to be the beneficiary of that injury, but with the next man up mentality, someone has to play at that position and at the same level as the player who was injured. People joke about the Wally Pipp story but such could be true of the Tavon Young injury.
Without their starting nickel corner, the Ravens have to fill that role. Next man up would more than likely be Brandon Carr. Brandon has been playing nickel in the preseason and had played it before coming to the Ravens. Oddly enough, and I know Brandon wouldn’t care about this, but when it looked like Jimmy Smith and Marlon Humphrey were going to be the starting outside corners, it appeared his 176 game starting streak would end. But with the injury, it seems probable that he will be the starting nickel corner on opening day.
In addition, Cyrus Jones has been mentioned as another possible replacement for Young in the nickel spot. Not long ago, it looked like Jones may be on the bubble. With so many young draft picks, a strong roster and possible punt returners, it looked like Jones might have been left off the final 53 man roster. But with the possible need for additional cornerbacks, it looks like the Ravens are giving him extra snaps to try and prepare him for either dime or quarter packages. He had the most snaps of any Ravens corner in the Packers game.
If the Ravens put Young on IR or even IR to return, that means there is another roster spot we wouldn’t have imagined would be available. (So much for my “Pick the Roster” entry). Perhaps that means another one of the young corners would get a roster spot. Maybe Justin Bethel or Stanley Jean-Baptiste is now guaranteed a spot on the roster. Or the Ravens may feel comfortable at the corner spot and choose to use that spot to keep that third quarterback, or a sixth receiver or even extra down lineman. So many people could be affected by an injury that figuring that out is a task that General Manager Eric DeCosta is adept at. With the first serious injury of the preseason, the front office will be trying to put a puzzle together that now has a missing piece. It now becomes an art to juggle the pieces, keep the roster full of qualified players and hope that no more serious injuries befall the Ravens through the preseason and in to the regular season. No one can predict injuries, you can only be prepared and that is something the Ravens have always specialized in.
