The Ravens have largely avoided significant and long-term injuries so far this season, but no team goes unscathed.
Tight end Charlie Kolar suffered a broken arm in Monday night’s win over the Chargers in Los Angeles, coach John Harbaugh confirmed Wednesday. He did not say how long he expects him to be out, though he is expected to miss a significant amount of time.
“We’re going to put another guy out there,” he said. “We’re going to play with 11 guys for sure, and whatever Charlie was going to be in there, there will be another player on the field doing football stuff and running plays and blocking and catching and whatever else would happen for that position, so that’s how we’ll handle it.”
Kolar left SoFi Stadium with his arm heavily wrapped and in a sling despite playing the entirety of the game.
In a related move, the Ravens signed tight end Scotty Washington to the practice squad. The good news for Baltimore is they also have plenty of depth at the position with Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and fullback Patrick Ricard.
Still, Kolar was having a solid season, particularly as a blocker in the run game, and losing him cuts into the Ravens’ depth and limits their heavy packages. Baltimore leads the NFL with 2,162 rushing yards this season.
A third-round draft pick out of Iowa State in 2022, the 25-year-old has also contributed in the passing game with nine catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.
But his absence could have the biggest impact in the ground game. Monday against the Chargers, Kolar, who suffered the injury early in the fourth quarter, played a season-high 32 snaps on offense (along with 22 on special teams) as he helped pave the way for 212 rushing yards in the 30-23 victory.
Baltimore (8-4) also had two others absent from Wednesday’s practice as it prepares for Sunday’s showdown with the NFC East leading Philadelphia Eagles (9-2) at M&T Bank Stadium.
Neither outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (hamstring/neck) nor cornerback Arthur Maulet (calf/knee) practiced. However, the Ravens did share some good news on the injury front.
Inside linebacker Roquan Smith, who missed Monday’s game with a hamstring injury, was back on the field Wednesday. Nose tackle Michael Pierce also returned as did rookie safety Sanoussi Kane (ankle).
Pierce, who was placed on injured reserve after suffering a calf injury against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 27, has 21 days to be added to the active roster or else he would revert to injured reserve for the rest of the season.
“We’re hoping,” Harbaugh said when asked if Pierce would be able to play Sunday against the Eagles. “We have our fingers crossed that he could be ready this week. We’ll have to see.”
For the Eagles, wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring) did not practice in their walk-through practice.
Smith, 26, did not play Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams after not practicing all of last week. He has never missed back-to-back games in his NFL career, though that could be in danger this week.
Philadelphia was also without cornerbacks Darius Slay (concussion) and Kelee Ringo (calf) on Wednesday. Slay suffered a concussion in Sunday’s win in Los Angeles. If he can’t clear concussion protocol, veteran Isaiah Rodgers would be in line to start.
Seven others for the Eagles were limited participants for rest on Wednesday, including running back Saquon Barkley, defensive end Josh Sweat and the entire starting offensive line.
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