Elvis Dumervil is back on the sidelines as he continues dealing with the effects of an offseason "foot-area" procedure.
The veteran outside linebacker is still hopeful he can get back at some point this season, but hesitated to provide any specifics about the nature of the injury or when he will return.
"I'm working every day, [returning this year is] the goal. No doubt," Dumervil told reporters. "I don't have a timetable. I wish I did, but I really don't."
The injury has bothered Dumervil going back to last season, and he has never fully recovered after the surgery. Dumervil missed the entire offseason program and most of training camp rehabbing from the surgery, and he then suffered a setback in training camp.
Dumervil returned to action in Week 4 and played two games, but the Ravens determined he didn't look like himself. He played a total of 45 snaps in those two games, and didn't register any tackles or sacks.
After those games, the medical team took another look at Dumervil's foot and determined he needed more time to recover.
"It is a strength issue in his foot and his ankle. It has to be right," Head Coach John Harbaugh said last week. "[T]hat explosiveness really wasn't there. He wasn't able to get into a tackle and really push like he needs to."
Dumervil has not practiced at all the last two weeks, and he will likely remain sidelined at least through the bye.
Without Dumervil, the outside pass rush has been essentially limited to fellow veteran outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, who leads the team with five sacks. But now Suggs could miss time with a biceps injury, meaning the Ravens will turn to young linebackers Za'Darius Smith, Matthew Judon and Kamalei Correa to generate pressure on quarterbacks.
Dumervil is hopeful he will be able to provide a boost to the pass rush when he returns, but right now he's stuck in a holding pattern as he works to get healthy.
"I've got work to do," Dumervil said. "All I can do is just go out and just what I need to do to try to get back. And we're not at that point, so I just have to keep going, keep grinding, keep working, and it will happen."
