The Ravens have signed long snapper Kevin McDermott to fill in for injured Morgan Cox.
Cox suffered a torn ACL in Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons while trying to cover a punt, ending his season. An MRI confirmed the injury on Monday and Cox has been placed on injured reserve.
McDermott is a second-year player who snapped for the San Francisco 49ers for 19 games last season, including the postseason. He won the starting job as an undrafted rookie last year.
It was considered a surprise when the 49ers released McDermott at the end of training camp. They went with Kyle Nelson instead, who offers more versatility as he can double as a tight end.
The Ravens got an up-close-and-personal look at McDermott as he was in Baltimore when the 49ers visited in training camp. Baltimore also worked out long snapper Patrick Scales Monday morning.
"He's a guy that we are very familiar with," Head Coach John Harbaugh said.
"Patrick is a guy that was with us in training camp twice who we have a lot of respect for, as well. Both of those guys had excellent workouts and we feel like either one of those guys would fit us really well. We chose to go with Kevin and we're moving forward with that."
The Ravens will use McDermott this Sunday in Cincinnati. He will have to quickly gain a comfort level with placekicker Justin Tucker and punter Sam Koch, who have worked on perfecting the timing with Cox over the past five seasons.
"We've developed a rhythm that's really, really good," Tucker said. "We feel like we're hitting the ball as well as we can. It's tough to develop that rhythm and it takes a lot of time, a lot of practice and a lot of continuity with the three components.
"At the same time, I know whoever will fill that role for us going ahead, they will be taught the Raven way and taught the Wolfpack way."
Harbaugh said Cox will be around to help McDermott. Cox encouraged McDermott and Scales when he saw them coming in for the tryout.
"[Cox has] kind of pledged his time and effort. He's rehabbing to get with those guys and help them understand what we're doing and the nuances of the position," Harbaugh said.
"Probably more than most teams, we feel like there's a lot there for those guys. We do a lot with our snapper in terms of mental responsibilities and different techniques that we use. We'll have to see how Kevin fits that. But Morgan will be there to help him all the way, which shows you what kind of guy he is."
