Is Baltimore Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins actually injured, at least in any meaningful way? At this point it’s kind of hard to say with confidence, even if he remains on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform List through their first week of training camp.
The former second-round pick is now in a contract year and has expressed frustrations over his usage as well as for his desire for a new deal. At an earlier point this offseason, he even sent out a series of tweets (back when they were still tweets, I suppose) that seemed to read as a farewell to Baltimore.
Dobbins, who missed the 2021 season with a torn ACL and then spent portions of last season still working his way back from it, reportedly dealt with a soft tissue injury during minicamp after skipping OTAs and has only been on the field in street clothes since training camp opened due to an undisclosed ailment. Perhaps it’s not a physical one, like former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger’s “contusion of the birth certificate”.
“It’s a fair question, and there is a point in time when it does become a concern”, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh acknowledged about his starting running back’s continued absence from the field. “J.K. and I talked last night. We talk a lot. He wants to be out there, and he needs to be out there, just like any player does. Other than that, there’s nothing else I can really add. I don’t know when he’s going to come back, but I know I’m going to be really happy when he does”.
Frankly, the way that he spoke and phrased that reads as though there is something non-injury related going on behind his non-participation on the field, and his own behavior this offseason—even going back to his complaints at the end of the 2022 season about not getting the ball in a key situation—only fuel that perception.
Dobbins has averaged nearly six yards per carry in his career, albeit on only 226 total attempts. He rushed for 805 yards on 134 carries during his rookie season in a crowded backfield. Last season he only participated in eight games but rushed for 520 yards on only 92 attempts, getting better after returning from a midseason complicating injury. He rushed for 397 yards on 57 attempts in his final four games.
The Ravens are not incredibly deep at running back behind Dobbins, though they still have Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. They recently signed veteran Melvin Gordon III to a one-year contract to see what the 30-year-old still has left in the tank.
One can only assume that Dobbins will get back out there at some point in the relatively near future, but at least until he does, and perhaps not even then, people are going to question why he’s not out there—and whether there will be lingering problems.
