The 2023 NFL season was rife with injuries to starters on every team. However, no one was hit as hard as the Baltimore Ravens in terms of their running back room. Starting running back J.K. Dobbins suffered a torn Achilles at the beginning of the season, ending his hopes to continue his dominant run.
Dobbins tore his Achilles in Week 1 when the Ravens took on the Texans in an eventual 25-9 win. He was attempting to punch the ball in the end zone from the five-yard line. Sadly, the result of the play led to Dobbins ending his 2023 season prematurely.
He received surgery to repair the Achilles tear in mid-September and has been steadily working his way towards suiting up once again.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelisserro announced on X that Dr. Neal ElAttrache had informed select teams that Dobbins has been cleared for football activity. ElAttrache added the OSU product looks “outstanding.”
Dobbins would be a bargain currently as the perennial RB has suffered multiple injuries that have resulted in his missing 27 games total in his short three-year career. However, he also averages 5.8 yards per carry, which should be a huge aspect of teams wanting to bring him on.
Dobbins could still fetch a decent contract from an RB-needy team, with the hope being that his injury woes are behind him. He is only 25 years old and is looking to revitalize his career.
Even though the Ravens could allow Dobbins to walk, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if he ends up returning to the team. Baltimore has often used multiple RBs along with quarterback Lamar Jackson to create a scary and confusing rushing attack.
The Ravens also recently signed RB Derrick Henry, previously of the Tennessee Titans, who aims to boost the team’s run game exponentially. Henry and a healthy Dobbins would be a scary duo to match up with Jackson.
However, the Ravens also rank #19 out of 32 teams in terms of available cap space at overthecap.com. Of the 32 teams, the Ravens currently have $11 million in available cap to use.
The Ravens might be waiting to see what happens with next month’s draft to justify more spending, and they did just land Henry on a two-year $16 million deal. Dobbins is unlikely to rejoin his former team, but he could still be offered a somewhat minimal one-year “prove it” deal.
Either way, with the news that Dobbins is cleared for football activities, many teams will likely be calling and setting up visits for the stellar RB.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.