Already decimated by injuries, the Ravens secondary suffered another blow early in Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Anthony Averett suffered a chest injury with 4:29 left in the first quarter. He was originally ruled as questionable to return, but ruled out at halftime.
After going low to make a tackle on tight end C.J. Uzomah, Averett stayed on the ground. Averett rose to his feet, but was carted to the locker room holding his left side.
The loss of Averett is another major setback for a secondary that has lost all of its top cornerbacks except nickel corner Tavon Young. Pro Bowl corner Marcus Peters was lost for the season prior to Week 1 with a knee injury and All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey suffered a season-ending pectoral injury Dec. 5.
Two other cornerbacks are on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and did not play Sunday – Jimmy Smith and Chris Westry. Former practice squad player Kevon Seymour started Sunday's game, and Daryl Worley, who was just signed to the practice squad this week, replaced Averett after his injury.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow immediately went on the attack, and the Bengals scored touchdowns on three straight possessions after Averett left the game. A Baltimore busted coverage in the secondary left Tyler Boyd wide open for a 68-yard catch-and-run to give Cincinnati a 17-7 lead, followed by a 9-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to Joe Mixon that made the score 24-7 with just over seven minutes left in the second quarter.
