Ravens Place RB Alex Collins On IR

Alex Collins‘ season has come to an end. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets that the Ravens have placed the running back on the injured reserve. The team has activated running back Kenneth Dixon in a corresponding move.

Collins had been dealing with a foot injury that forced him to miss last week’s win over the Raiders. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the running back won’t have to undergo surgery for the injury, but the organization decided that it was in the player’s best interest to sit out and heal his foot. Collins should be “fine” by the time he hits restricted free agency this offseason.

There were some high hopes for Collins heading into this season, especially after he finished the 2017 campaign having compiled 973 rushing yards and six touchdowns. However, the 24-year-old struggled in 2018, as he had rushed for only 411 yards on 114 carries (3.6-yard average). The running back did manage to find the end zone eight times, however.

Collins is expected to hit restricted free agency this offseason, and the Ravens will have to decide whether they want to tender him a contract. Fellow running backs Buck Allen and Ty Montgomery are also set to hit free agency, meaning the organization could completely revamp their running back depth chart before next season. At the very least, the running back corps could look a whole lot different behind Gus Edwards.

Dixon hasn’t been able to stay healthy since being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, as the 24-year-old has appeared in only 13 games through three seasons. The running back missed the entire 2017 season, and he’s only appeared in one game in 2018. He was relatively production during his rookie campaign, as he compiled 382 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 88 carries. He also added 30 receptions for 162 yards.