Ravens running back Kenneth Dixon has been designated to return from injured reserve and will practice on Friday, the club announced today.
Dixon was placed on IR in early September after suffering a knee injury in Baltimore’s season opener, but there was always an expectation that he could return. A fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, Dixon hasn’t seen game action since his rookie campaign, as a torn meniscus kept him off the field in 2017. He was also handed a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, although he was able to serve that ban while on IR.
Dixon is now the second Ravens player — joining cornerback Maurice Canady — who has been designated to return from injured reserve this year. Each NFL club only gets to bring two players off IR, so other injured Ravens, such as defender Willie Henry, are now officially done for the year. Now that Dixon is back at practice, Baltimore has three weeks to decide whether to activate him to its 53-man roster, or leave him on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
If he is able to come back, Dixon — who managed 4.3 yards per carry on 88 rushes in his rookie year — would join Alex Collins, Javorius Allen, recent trade acquisition Ty Montgomery, and rookie Gus Edwards in the Ravens’ backfield.