The Ravens lost J.K. Dobbins to a season-ending ACL tear in Saturday’s preseason game, but head coach John Harbaugh said he remains confident in the team’s stable of running backs.
Still, Harbaugh called it a disappointment, especially for Dobbins.
“Our hearts go out to him. It’s very challenging because he worked so hard,” Harbaugh said in his Monday press conference. “He was so prepared and he was so ready to go this year, so excited to go, and such a big part of our plans. Like any injury, which happens and will happen throughout the course of the NFL with different teams, you just have to approach it and overcome it. It’s adversity and we’ll have to deal with it, and we will.
“We have the players to do it. We have the team to do it. Our guys are excited today, again, to practice. And I have full confidence in the rest of the running backs that are here to pick up the load and to do a great job for us. So that’s where we’re at with that.”
Dobbins rushed for 805 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie. Harbaugh said he anticipates Dobbins will be just fine coming back in 2022.
“J.K., he’s just the hardest worker and he’s the most passionate guy,” Harbaugh said. “He will be ready to go next year, there’s no question about it. He’ll be ready to roll. He’ll probably be ready to roll in OTAs — you know how he gets after it and the timing of this. So I’m not worried about long-term J.K. at all. Like his agent said, there’s nobody tougher than him, nobody more passionate than him. And there’s nobody that will work harder than him. So he’ll be just fine.”
With Dobbins out, Gus Edwards presumably becomes Baltimore’s lead back for 2021. The team currently still has Ty’Son Williams, Justice Hill, and Nate McCrary on the roster at the position.