Nate Wiggins came ready to silence the doubters, and for one half of the Ravens’ preseason game, he did that. But, shortly into the second half, a shoulder injury cut his performance short.
Wiggins started in the preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles and made an immediate impact. His speed was on display as he kept wide receiver John Ross locked down, leading to an incompletion. He showed his quick hands as he knocked a ball out of Joseph Ngata’s hands. In the first series, he made three pass breakups.
Wiggins’ strong performance continued through the first half and into the second. He made a big tackle in the backfield, showing he can be physical when speed isn’t enough, something Clemson teammate and Ravens linebacker Trenton Simpson never doubted.
“Just to see him fly around, I was so happy to see him get his pass breakups, make some tackles,” Simpson said. “That’s what it was like at Clemson, and I’m excited to see his career continue to grow. He’s going to be a special guy for us, for sure.”
Then Wiggins tackled running back Lew Nichols on a seemingly innocuous play 2:48 into the second half. It was a stop on third-and-6, and he popped right up.
But, as the Ravens’ defense ran off the field, Wiggins ran past the bench and into the injury tent. He exited the tent and then exited the field. Shortly after, the Ravens announced Wiggins had a shoulder injury and was questionable to return.
Second-round pick offensive lineman Roger Rosengarten has been teammates with Wiggins only since the draft in April. But they sit next to each other in the locker room, and Rosengarten has gotten to know Wiggins as a player and person.
“I know one thing about Nate is that he’s going to come back from it,” Rosengarten said. “... We sit there next to each other each day in and day out. And the guy works hard, and he performed super well. So I’m excited for him, and I hope everything’s OK. He’ll be back.”
In addition to Wiggins’ injury, linebacker Chris Board left the game in the first half. The Ravens ruled him out for the rest of the game and said he’s undergoing concussion testing.
Rookie safety Sanoussi Kane also went down after tackling wide receiver Jacob Harris. He was penalized for unnecessary roughness and then ruled out with a stinger.
After the game, coach John Harbaugh did not have updates on any of the players who were injured during the game, but he provided a different injury update.
Outside linebacker David Ojabo, who has been participating in training camp drills, did not dress for the game. Harbaugh said Ojabo had not been cleared to play.
