After getting fined $20,000 by the NFL for not listing Ed Reed on the injury report, the Ravens responded by including 16 names on the report this week. The Cleveland Browns listed 19 players.
Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh said that including all of the names at the NFL's request has diminished the intended value of the report.
"There's no credence on the injury report now," Harbaugh said Friday. "It doesn't mean anything. It has no value. The injury report is without value."
The Ravens used to keep their injury report tight, only including players with ailments that forced them to miss game or practice time.
But the fine has forced them to change policies, and the procedure moving forward is that the Ravens will list any possible injury that a player has.
"We will just put every guy on there that has a hangnail, and we'll go from there," Harbaugh said. "The league is sending a message. The league is letting us know what they expect on the injury report.
"If a guy goes out there and doesn't miss a practice, doesn't miss a game, and doesn't want to be on the injury report -- and we have to [list him] on the injury report -- I want the league's answer on that. I'm looking forward to hearing that. So, I'll probably be getting fined for that now."
Harbaugh referenced the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA], which guarantees individuals protection with keeping health information private. Senior Vice President of Public and Community Relations Kevin Byrne also said that two players even expressed concern with being on the injury report when they had not missed any time.
"Aren't there HIPAA rights here?" Harbaugh asked. "If I'm a player and I've been playing and I don't want that on the injury report, and I'm told I have to be put on the injury report … We have some players that resent that. So yes, I have a problem with that, in all honesty."
Some teams around the league have already adopted the practice of long injury reports, most notably the New England Patriots. Quarterback Tom Brady is regularly listed on the injury report, although he has not missed a game other than when a torn ACL ended his season in 2008.
"Bill [Belichick] figured it out way before the rest of us did," Harbaugh said. "His injury report is that long. It's been that way for years.
"We tried to be straightforward with our injury report, and we got fined for it. We're moving on."
