The hurt from not reaching the Super Bowl still lingers, but the Ravens enter this offseason healthier than most years.
One bit of good news is the Ravens' injury list isn't lengthy after a grueling season that lasted into the divisional round.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said tight end Nick Boyle and wide receiver Seth Roberts as the only players on the 53-man roster who might have trouble playing if the Ravens had advanced in the playoffs.
Boyle went to the medical tent early in the third quarter of the divisional loss to the Tennessee Titans and didn't return. Roberts did not play in the second half, crawling to the sideline in pain after catching a 26-yard pass from Jackson late in the second quarter.
"Nick would be a minor sprain," Harbaugh said. "He would be iffy for this week if we were playing, but knowing Nick, I think he'd play. And then Seth, he would probably be out a little bit. He had a pretty good ankle sprain. That's why he wasn't able to come back. But those are things that those guys won't have a problem with."
Harbaugh also gave a positive update on the status of nickel cornerback Tavon Young, who missed the 2019 season following neck surgery. Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey did an excellent job playing nickel for extended stretches after the Ravens traded for Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters. However, nickel is Young's specialty and the Ravens signed him to a three-year contract extension after his strong 2018 season.
"What I was told yesterday was Tavon will be back for the first day of the offseason program and be rolling," Harbaugh said.
In addition to Young, other Ravens who suffered season-ending injuries included safeties Tony Jefferson (knee) and DeShon Elliott (knee), center Matt Skura (knee) and outside linebacker Pernell McPhee (triceps). Those players will continue their recoveries during the offseason, but Harbaugh is grateful that the Ravens don't have many more injuries to deal with.
"We had our best year, injury-wise," Harbaugh said. "I have to give a lot of credit to (Head Certified Athletic Trainer) Ron Medlin and to (Head Strength & Conditioning Coach) Steve Saunders and to (Director of Sports Nutrition) Sarah Snyder and everybody involved there. We were great. I'd like to find a way to try to replicate that next year.
"With that, this is the best offseason we've ever had, by far – the fewest offseason injuries to recuperate from, the fewest surgeries, even though we have a couple things pending that second opinions are going to weigh in on for potential surgeries. We'll see, but it's the best, by far, that we've had."
