The Ravens are moving quickly at running back. After Gus Edwards suffered a potentially serious knee injury in practice Thursday, the Ravens agreed to add Devonta Freeman to their practice squad, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Freeman joined Le’Veon Bell in working out for the team Monday. The Ravens added Bell to their taxi squad Wednesday, and although the team signed Bell first, Schefter adds Freeman is expected to be the back promoted to Baltimore’s active roster first.
Edwards is feared to have suffered a torn ACL. This setback follows J.K. Dobbins‘ ACL tear and Justice Hill‘s Achilles tear. Each injury occurred within the past three weeks, depleting the run-dependent team’s backfield. Should Freeman be bumped up to Baltimore’s active roster ahead of Week 1, he will join second-year UDFA Ty’Son Williams and recent free agent acquisition Trenton Cannon.
Injuries have affected Freeman’s career as well. After the former Falcons starter missed 14 games due to knee and groin ailments in 2018, an ankle injury limited him to five games last season with the Giants. Last season, Freeman rushed for 172 yards on 54 carries. In 2019, he managed just 656 at 3.6 yards per tote. The two-time Pro Bowler has not submitted much in the way of quality since the 2018 injuries, but the Ravens present an interesting opportunity as a run-centric team in a desperate situation.
Both Ravens practice squad backs have not shown much since 2017, when Bell completed the second of his All-Pro seasons, even though they carry unusually high profiles for P-squad cogs. Freeman’s two 1,000-yard seasons came in 2015 and ’16, and the Falcons rewarded him with a deal that at the time marked the top running back contract. Like Bell, Freeman is 29. Each will aim to join Williams as Baltimore ball carriers in a skeleton-crew backfield.
Sleeper MVP candidate
Bell and Freeman have been competing to have the lowest Yards Per Carry average in the league over the last couple of years. We may find out really soon if either of them really has any gas left in the tank.
Ravens are going Madden style and cherry picking the practice squad players!
Heck of a month for them.
All signs point to this being Cleveland’s year.
Cleveland’s year to go 9-8. Brownies are so overrated.
Ravens were one of the, if not the, best running teams in the league. Makes me wonder if they’re going to ask Jackson to throw more now.
Ravens are going full madden style, signing a free agent after every injury