J.K. Dobbins sounds off on lack of workload, says he’s ‘tired of being held back’

Entering the final week of the regular season, Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins led in nearly all metrics since he returned from a midseason knee scope. When it came to Week 18, the Ravens rested him in preparation for the Wild Card rematch against the Cincinnati Bengals. But the workload given to Dobbins after the rest was unsatisfactory for him as he finished with 13 carries for 62 yards rushing paired with four receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown receiving. But in the red zone, Dobbins didn’t a goal line carry and sounded off, expressing frustration that instead they ran a quarterback sneak with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley who ‘shouldn’t have been in that position.’

This isn’t the first time Dobbins has expressed frustration in his lack of usage.

Earlier this season expressed frustration that he suffered a season-ending ACL injury last year in a preseason game.

“It definitely gets hard for me because I wish I didn’t get hurt in a preseason game. It still weighs on my mind, like, ‘A preseason game.’ If you think about it, I really never talk about it because I’m always positive and I don’t want anyone to think I’m pointing fingers at anyone, but I got hurt in a preseason game,” Dobbins said back in December. “I played every single preseason game that year, and didn’t make it to the season. Just imagine if I didn’t get hurt in that preseason game; I would’ve played the whole year last year, and then I would have been probably better right now then I am this year.”

In October, Dobbins also expressed frustration unprompted with his usage, noting he’s never had (at the time) more than 15 carries in his career.

“It’s funny that you say that,” Dobbins said to reporters when asked about his carries prior to injury. “I’ve never had an [NFL] game where I had more than 15 carries, throughout my whole career.”