Ravens place Tylan Wallace on injured reserve, re-sign Josh Johnson

The Baltimore Ravens have yet to have a week this season where they haven’t placed a player on injured reserve. Unfortunately, that unlucky streak was extended on Monday.

The team announced that third-year wide receiver Tylan Wallace became the latest to be added to the growing list with a hamstring injury he sustained in their Week 3 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Wallace joins running backs J.K. Dobbins and Keaton Mitchell, defensive backs Damarion “Pepe” Williams and Ar’Darius Washington, and outside linebacker Malik Hamm on injured reserve. He’ll miss a minimum of four games, which means he won’t be eligible to return until at least Week 8 when the Ravens travel to face the Arizona Cardinals on the road.

Although the 2021 fourth-round pick has only played one offensive snap through the first three games of the season, he is a key contributor on special teams on the kick coverage and blocking units. Given that the Ravens have struggled to consistently cover punts and kicks the past two games, his absence could be more significant than many realize right now.

Filling his spot on the active roster will be veteran journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson, who was only on the market for a few days. He was released by the Ravens on Saturday so that they could sign second-year outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon to the active roster ahead of Sunday’s game. That was part of an agreement he made with the team, according to Head Coach John Harbaugh.

“We did that because we needed to have enough guys who were healthy active,” Harbaugh said. “As a veteran, he has a choice to do that. We asked him to do that. It wasn’t like we required him to do that and he was good about it, because he knew it was the best thing for this week. I think he deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Johnson served as Lamar Jackson’s primary backup for the first two games. It remains to be seen, perhaps up until inactives are announced pre-game, whether he or fourth-year pro Tyler Huntley will be the No. 2 quarterback in Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns.

The Ravens have been perhaps the most banged-up team in the league to start the season and were without a whopping seven starters against the Colts. Harbaugh didn’t provide any updates on the additional players that exited the game on Sunday during his Monday press conference. However, he did express thankfulness that the majority of their injured players haven’t sustained season-ending setbacks, with the exception of Dobbins and possibly Washington.

“We don’t feel like it’s too much to bare,” Harbaugh said. “Absolutely not. We have guys that can get the job done. But it’s definitely relevant. It’s definitely something that we’re contending with. We have to. It’s where we’re at right now.

“The good side is that guys are coming back. The downside is all of them aren’t coming back right now or they haven’t already been there.”