Young likely out vs. Ravens
Groin injury continues to hamper rookie pass rusher
After a fast start to the season, Washington Football Team edge rusher Chase Young will likely miss Sunday’s game against the Ravens, two people with knowledge of the situation said. The team’s star rookie suffered a moderate groin strain in Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns, and he is now considered week-to-week.
In the portion of practice open to the media Wednesday, Young rode the stationary bike in shorts and his jersey. He did not participate in drills. Ron Rivera was not present to see him, as the head coach missed practice because of his ongoing treatment for cancer.
“We’ll see how this week goes with Chase,” defensive coordinator and acting head coach Jack Del Rio said when asked about Young’s status for Sunday, declining to rule Young out. “We’ve got time. To make declarations early in the week doesn’t serve anyone’s purpose.”
In handling Young’s injury, it’s possible Rivera will proceed with the extra care he’s used throughout this year. During training camp, Young missed a few practices with a hurt hip flexor, and Rivera said the team would be “a little bit more cautious than we need to be” in bringing him back because of the circumstances. The lack of a true offseason, preseason games and the injuries sweeping the league have made Rivera hypervigilant about player health. His steps to minimize injury risks have included slow-playing returns, such as that of cornerback Kendall Fuller (knee), as well as his decisions to not use timeouts at the end of games.
For the defensive line, the strongest position group on Washington’s roster, this is the second injury loss it has suffered this week. On Monday, top backup defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis was ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn biceps. These are the first significant injuries to a team that, at least until Sunday, had managed to avoid the spate of them sweeping the league.
In Young’s stead, franchise sack leader Ryan Kerrigan will likely return to the starting lineup opposite fellow edge rusher Montez Sweat. (Kerrigan missed Wednesday’s practice for a veteran’s day off.) The tandem faces a tough task in containing the Baltimore Ravens’ dualthreat quarterback Lamar Jackson, the reigning league Most Valuable Player.
Ravens Coach John Harbaugh expressed skepticism Young would be out for certain — “we’ll continue to prepare for all their guys” — and praised the depth and talent of the Washington’s defensive line, saying on a call with reporters that “all the guys they’re rolling in there are very capable.”
Harbaugh added that he had a chance to meet Young in March at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala in Atlantic City, N.J. The coach remembered some teasing between them, an Ohio State alum and the brother of the coach at Michigan.
“He’s just a sponge, and I was really impressed with his humility and just kind of the guy he was,” Harbaugh said. “Raised the right way, obviously. He’s a top talent, and he’s a top effort player, and I can tell he’s very coachable. So, I was very impressed with him.”
The focus now intensifies on the depth of Washington’s defensive line. Tim Settle will be asked to play a larger role in the absence of Ioannidis, and the team addressed depth at end by elevating Nate Orchard from the practice squad to the active roster this week. The team’s top reserves at end, though, figure to be seventh-round pick James SmithWilliams and former linebacker Ryan Anderson, though Anderson did not participate in Wednesday’s practice because of an ankle injury. Rivera has also mentioned Smith-Williams can rush inside or outside.
“[All] those guys will obviously get an opportunity [if Young is out],” Del Rio said, adding, “They’ll be fired up for that if they’re called upon.”