Ravens Begin Taking Steps to Deal With Injuries

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — One of the priorities for the Ravens is to address the number of injuries that have plagued the roster over the past few seasons.

Baltimore finished with 19 players on IR, including several key players such as running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey, safety DeShon Elliott and left tackle Ronnie Stanley.

The Ravens finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

The team has already begun taking steps to deal with that challenge with injuries.

The Ravens recently finished interviews for a new head athletic trainer and hired Adrian Dixon to take over the job.

Dixon has spent the past six seasons (2016-21) working for the Tennessee Titans, most recently serving as the team’s director of physical therapy and sports rehabilitation. He originally joined the Titans as their rehab coordinator/assistant athletic trainer in February of 2016. In his role, he designed and managed the rehabilitation and treatment programs for injured players, also overseeing their progression back onto the field.

“We are excited to announce the addition of Adrian Dixon as our new Head Certified Athletic Trainer,” GM Eric DeCosta stated. “Over the course of the last month, after meeting with multiple qualified candidates, it became quite evident that Adrian possessed all the traits and skills necessary to help us become the best player wellness program in the National Football League. We were very impressed by Adrian’s servant leadership, his passion for the challenge, and his vision for our training room.

"Adrian will work closely with Dr. Andy Tucker, our Chief Medical Officer, and lead a talented and respected staff of trainers including Ron Medlin, Kevin Domboski and Mike Blankenship, among others. Adrian will start tomorrow and lead us at the Combine next week in Indianapolis.”

Dixon’s additional NFL experience includes serving as an assistant athletic trainer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014-15) and as an athletic training intern with the Houston Texans (2013), Buccaneers (2007) and Chicago Bears (2005).

The hiring of Dixon is a key step to addressing some of the challenges facing the Ravens as far as injuries.

At the midpoint of last season, the Ravens held the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. Just over two months later, Baltimore failed to make the playoffs as the injuries continued to accumulate.

Coach John Harbaugh wants to ensure another season does not get derailed by injuries.

"This year, we just got smashed with [injuries]," Harbaugh said. "You can say it’s bad luck. You can say it’s a fluke. I get that, but I don’t feel like we have the luxury to live there. That’s not something that we can say that’s it. We have to turn over every stone. We have to look at every possible avenue to do the best we can to make sure this doesn’t happen again."