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The Baltimore Ravens will open their season Sunday in Baltimore against the Buffalo Bills with a shorthanded pass rush.
Elvis Dumervil said he won't be able to play this week against Buffalo after a minor setback in his recovery from an offseason procedure.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 7, 2016
The team announced Wednesday that Elvis Dumervil, their pass rushing outside linebacker will miss the game after a setback in his offseason recovery from foot surgery. Dumervil hadn’t practiced most of the offseason thanks to the surgery and didn’t appear in the preseason for Baltimore.
He was expected to be ready to go for week one, but now that he isn’t the Ravens coaching staff will have to get a bit more creative with how they use some of their young options against a dynamic Buffalo offense. Behind Terrell Suggs the few options to keep an eye on are Zadarius Smith and rookies Kamalei Correa and Matt Judon.
Entering his second season, Smith is viewed as a potential breakout candidate on Dean Pees’ defense. After a buzzy summer, Correa had something of a quiet preseason, while Judon had anything but. He had three sacks in the preseason as well as several pressures, and figures to enter the rotation immediately. With Dumervil out for at least the first week, that should happen for Judon even sooner now.