As Tuesday afternoon’s NFL trade deadline approaches, the Ravens are still hoping for an in-house boost at outside linebacker.
Coach John Harbaugh said Monday that Tyus Bowser, who remains on the team’s non-football-injury list, was “pretty optimistic” about recovering from a knee injury and making his season debut.
“Can’t say it’s a guarantee, because it’s a knee that’s a little angry at times, but who knows?” said Harbaugh, who spoke with Bowser last week. “Maybe we’ll get Tyus back. We’ll see how that goes in the next few weeks.”
Bowser declined to talk to reporters in the locker room last week, but at a taping of his radio show two weeks ago, he said he was “feeling great.”
“I’m on the field,” Bowser added. “I’m moving around very well. I’m just gaining more and more confidence each and every day — not only on the field, but in the training room. I have great people around me, great support staff, and I feel like myself is getting to that point. I’m just going to continue to work hard, and when that time comes, it comes.”
The Ravens lead the NFL in sacks, but Bowser’s well-rounded skill set — he’s one of the team’s most instinctive linebackers in coverage — would fit well in coordinator Mike Macdonald’s defense. Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh has missed time this year with an ankle injury, and Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy could benefit in the long term from a more limited workload. Van Noy, 32, played 55% of the Ravens’ defensive snaps in Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals, while Clowney, who has a lengthy injury history, played 47%.
The Ravens could have to “make some decisions” elsewhere, Harbaugh said. Cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams (ankle) and rookie outside linebacker Malik Hamm, a Baltimore native, were placed on injured reserve before the season with ankle injuries.
A trade for another player would only make the roster math more complicated.
“Do we have a specific, overarching, have-to-have guy?” Harbaugh said. “No, we have an excellent roster. Love our players. We have guys who are getting healthy that will be coming off IR, even. ... I love our guys. I think we have everything we need to be successful. At the same time, if an opportunity came to bring in somebody that can help us and make us better in any area, really, but certain areas more than others, of course, and you could do it in a way that was affordable to the team and to the club ... you would do it.”
