Division Foe Loses Star Cornerback for Start of Season

According to reports, the Baltimore Ravens will be without Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey to start the season. Humphrey will be out with what is being reported as a foot injury. The injury will require surgery that is scheduled for today and he is expected to return in a little over a month.

#Ravens All-Pro CB Marlon Humphrey is dealing with a foot injury and he's expected to have surgery today, sources say. The hope is he's back in a little over a month. So, out for the first couple games. https://t.co/gkCiVoGuI3
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 16, 2023

The injury could have big implications on the race for the AFC North, with the schedule makers putting so many divisional games at the start of the year. For the Browns, the current timeline would seem to put his status in week 4, for the game in Cleveland on October 1st, in jeopardy. Humphrey will almost certainly miss the week 2 divisional matchup against the Bengals on September 17th.

Humphrey has been the heart of a physical defensive backfield for the Ravens. The team also lost free agent cornerback Marcus Peters, who signed with Las Vegas at the start of camp. The team did add free agent cornerback Rock Ya-Sin to pair with Humphrey as a starter during the offseason.

For the Ravens, this news would make a matchup against a healthy Browns receiving core a difficult one. Humphrey played most on the outside last year but has played a lot of snaps in the slot during his career as well. He is physical at the point of contact and has been good at blitzing from the corner.

Behind Humphrey and Ya-Sin, the Ravens are already thin at the position after losing Trayvon Mullen for the season with a toe injury that will force him to miss the entire season.

Humphrey was recently ranked by the 33rd Team as their 7th best cornerback heading into the 2023 season. (A list of their top nine cornerbacks that did not include Denzel Ward.)

2) Sauce Gardner
...
6) Marshon Lattimore
...
8) Trevon Diggs

Ranking the NFL's 9 best cornerbacks, via @Andy_Benoit👇https://t.co/O1kha59CaX
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 14, 2023

While it is too early to know his status for the first matchup with the Browns, a foot injury that requires surgery is one that the team should be careful with. Him being out at least a month could turn into a longer period of time, simply not wanting to jeopardize the risk of a re-injury. Stay tuned to Browns Digest for the latest updates.