Second-year Ravens cornerback Tavon Young suffered a torn ACL during Thursday's Organized Team Activities (OTAs), the team confirmed.
Young leapt into the air to make an interception without any contact. When he got up to run, his knee buckled and he went down to the turf.
Young stayed down for a while and had to be helped off the field by trainers. It didn't look good at the outset, and the worst was later confirmed.
"He bumped into a player. There wasn't much contact at all," Head Coach John Harbaugh said immediately after practice. "We'll see how his knee is."
Young was a standout performer last year as a fourth-round rookie out of Temple. He started 11 games and made 53 tackles, eight pass defenses and two interceptions. The 5-foot-9, 177 pounder was feisty, physical and had a nose for the football.
He was slated to move inside to his more natural nickel position this year after the Ravens signed Brandon Carr and drafted Marlon Humphrey in the first round. The Ravens felt Young could blossom as their nickel corner this season.
Now the Ravens will have to turn to its deep group of cornerbacks for assistance.
"As [General Manager] Ozzie [Newsome] says all the time, you need to build as much depth into your roster as you can, because injuries are going to happen," Harbaugh said.
Maurice Canady stepped in for Young after he went down, and recorded three interceptions. He also had a diving pick last week.
Humphrey told reporters Thursday that he has played some nickel corner in practice at Alabama, but never in a game.
The Ravens could also turn to veteran Lardarius Webb, who had a lot of experience at nickel and shined there once early in his career. Baltimore also has young options in Robertson Daniel and undrafted rookies Jaylen Hill and Carlos Davis (injured).
The Ravens also still have veteran Kyle Arrington on the roster, but he hasn't been at OTAs after being placed on injured reserve before last season began.
Still next up! https://t.co/r1TcWlrpl6 — Tavon Young (@Tyoung_NL) June 1, 2017
