The loss of veteran receiver Steve Smith to a season-ending Achilles tear is a tough one for the Ravens, because of what he meant to them emotionally.
But pragmatically, it was even tougher, as he was their last effective receiver left.
As pointed out by Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, the Ravens kept six wide receivers on their season-opening roster. Three of them (Smith, rookie Darren Waller and Michael Campanaro) are done for year and a fourth (first-rounder Breshad Perriman) hasn’t played a down.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he thought Permian had a “shot” to play at some point this year, but there’s nothing to suggest he’s close to a return after his latest knee surgery.
The law firm of Kamar Aiken, Chris Givens and Jeremy Ross made enough plays late to help them beat the Chargers yesterday, but if the 2-6 Ravens have any expectations this year, they’d need to find some outside help.
While it’s hard to gauge the effectiveness of making a trade before Tuesday’s deadline (face it, acquiring Calvin Johnson probably wouldn’t get them to the playoffs), they’re going to have to add someone, simply because they’re running out of bodies.