17 October 2023
Ravens safety Marcus Williams is “iffy” to play Sunday against the Detroit Lions because of the hamstring injury he suffered in London while outside linebacker Tyus Bowser’s absence because of a knee injury has become “more complicated,” coach John Harbaugh said on Monday.
Williams took a hit from behind when he was trying to block on fellow safety Geno Stone’s interception return in the third quarter of the Ravens’ 24-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. “Not a long-term hamstring, but hamstrings are finicky,” Harbaugh said. “So it’s not going to be a couple days. It’s going to be week to week, probably.”
The Titans game was Williams’ second back from a pectoral injury he suffered in the season opener, so he was already playing through pain.
The prognosis for Bowser, who has been on the non-football injury list all season, is murkier.
“I’m going to let Tyus comment on that,” Harbaugh said. “I’m really not at liberty to talk about it right now. He’s got to make some choices and decisions.”
In late August, Harbaugh said Bowser, who started four games for the Ravens last season and all 17 in 2021, was dealing with an agitated knee. He has worked out on the side during some practices.
The Ravens compensated for his absence by signing veteran outside linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy, both of whom are playing well. Malik Harrison has also stepped forward in his fourth season.
Next season is the last on Bowser’s four-year deal with the Ravens, and they could save $5.5 million on their 2024 salary cap by cutting him.
Harbaugh gave updates on several other players who were injured in London or are nearing their returns from longer-term injuries. Defensive end Brent Urban is dealing with “stinger issues” and was scheduled to be examined further Monday. Harrison is in concussion protocol and “clearing very quickly on that.”
Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, out since he sprained his ankle in the second game of the season, is “looking close,” while outside linebacker David Ojabo will be “in the neighborhood here in the next few weeks” as he recovers from a sprained knee.
Meanwhile, Harbaugh said the Ravens will ask the NFL for further explanation of why safety Kyle Hamilton was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Titans wide receiver Chris Moore, but he called the ejection a “judgment call” by the league office in New York and said “you just live with it.”
“Certainly, we’ll ask the league about it, because you just want to understand what the parameters are,” he said. “It was definitely a flaggable penalty; there’s no doubt about that. It was helmet to helmet. The one thing I do know is that Kyle certainly didn’t intend to do that. He was coming over, trying to play the ball, and their helmets hit.”
Harbaugh was generally pleased with his team’s energy and preparedness after the Ravens spent the entire week in London, a sharp contrast to the way they handled their last overseas game in 2017. They arrived home in the wee hours of Monday morning, and he acknowledged the difficulty of jumping immediately into preparations for the 5-1 Lions.
“I don’t really know that we have any definitive science on that,” Harbaugh. “But we’re gonna just get back to business as usual. We’re going to try to get back on our schedule. I think coming this way is kind of a good thing. You’re used to getting up. They’re going to get a chance to sleep all day today if they want. We’ll get a good night’s rest tonight. They don’t have to come in until 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, and then we’ll be pointing to the Lions.”
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