Cornerback Marlon Humphrey could be dealing with a groin injury that limited him to just about half of the Ravens defenseās snaps Sunday āfor a while,ā coach John Harbaugh said at his weekly news conference Monday.
Humphrey played 44 defensive snaps in the Ravens' overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, four fewer than in their Week 13 win over the Atlanta Falcons but just 51.2 percent of the total share. The second-year player entered Week 14 having allowed the lowest catch rate in the NFL since Week 7, according to Pro Football Focus.
āItās annoying,ā Harbaugh said of Humphreyās injury, which limited his action in the second half. āIt takes awhile for it to go away completely. Sometimes you can retweak it a little bit, too. Itās probably something thatās heās going to be feeling for a while. Thatās just the way groins are.ā
But Harbaugh had praise for rookie cornerback Anthony Averett, whose role grew in relief of his former Alabama teammate. Averettās 39 defensive snaps Sunday were more than his combined total over his seven previous appearances this season.
āAnthony played really well,ā Harbaugh said. āHe played really well. Not surprising, heās been playing well. Heās answered every bell so far. Every round heās been called out there, heās done a good job. He only gets better. It just makes our corner situation even better than [it] was before. I was really pleased with how he played. It helped Marlon, too, as far as the long-term health.ā
The Ravens will need all hands on deck Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Wide receivers Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson and Chris Godwin rank among the 22 highest-rated receivers in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
Dixonās role growing?
For the second straight week, running back Kenneth Dixon led the Ravens in yards per carry Sunday. Which could lead to something else.
After rushing eight times for 37 yards against the Falcons in his long-awaited return to action, Dixon had eight carries for 59 yards Sunday and added a 21-yard catch. While undrafted rookie Gus Edwards has established himself for now as the teamās workhorse running back, Harbaugh said Dixon should take on a bigger role in the offense.
āKenneth, I thought, played really well, ran hard, broke tackles, made people miss, did a good job in pass protection,ā he said. āHeās kind of getting more comfortable with the offense again, assignment-wise. I definitely expect to see Kennethās role grow, based on the fact heās been doing well with what heās been given so far. You continue to earn more as you go.ā
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With Ty Montgomery's involvement in the passing game, fellow running back Buck Allen struggled to find a role. He didnāt get an offensive snap for the second straight game.