The Baltimore Ravens come into their Week 2 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders with some question marks, especially at linebacker. Luckily for the Ravens, the Raiders lack an identity. We witnessed that in their season opener. They have some polarizing players on both sides of their roster, but as displayed last week, they lack a path forward.
The Los Angeles Chargers exposed the Raiders’ offensive line in particular last week, sacking Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew four times. Unfortunately for Minshew, the Ravens hope to get back on track with their pass rush that led the NFL last season with 60 sacks. They only had two on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Week 1 so they’ll look to take advantage of a wonky Raiders offensive line that could provide them with much more opportunities.
The injury report released today suggests the Ravens still have enough manpower to dominate the Raiders.
Ravens come into Week 2 with some pretty big question marks
The Ravens released their injury report Wednesday evening and everything looked business as usual until one big name stood out. Linebacker Roquan Smith is limited with a shoulder injury.
We knew Linebacker Adisa Isaac was still working his way back from a hamstring injury and Kyle Van Noy is obviously out from his unfortunate eye injury last week against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The big name to monitor for the upcoming matchup against the Raiders is Roquan Smith. The otherworldly linebacker is the backbone of this Ravens defense. On initial read, it doesn’t seem like his shoulder injury is too serious since he’s only been limited and not ruled “Out.”
However, Smith is a tenacious and powerful force. He very much needs his shoulders to remain healthy so he can continue sending opposing offensive players into the ground. This report is very interesting and a bit of a cause for concern. The Ravens are now becoming very thin at the linebacker position.
While the Raiders are not the most frightening offense in the NFL, the Ravens can ill afford starting off the season 0-2. Hopefully, Smith’s battling nothing too serious and he’ll progress throughout the week. But as of right now, the Ravens should definitely be a bit weary going into Week 2. This team’s linebacking corp could fall apart quickly if they don’t play their cards correctly.