Ravens' Isaiah Likely carted off with small foot fracture, Week 1 return possible

Yahoo

5 days ago

Tight end Isaiah Likely was carted off at the end of Baltimore Ravens training camp practice Tuesday after what was initially reported as an ankle injury. Turns out, Likely sustained a small fracture in his foot, and will miss multiple weeks while recovering from the issue, according to ESPN.
The Baltimore Banner's Jonas Shaffer reported that Likely went down on the last rep of 1-on-1s.
When the injury was initially reported as an ankle issue, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that he expects Likely to be out "a few weeks" and that Likely will have an MRI on Wednesday.
"We'll know tomorrow," Harbaugh said, per Hensley.
Despite news of a small fracture, Likely is essentially on the same timeline. A Week 1 return is possible for the tight end.
Likely, 25, is in his fourth season with Baltimore, which selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. He's complemented star Mark Andrews in a tight end-friendly, 12-personnel-heavy Ravens offense, making 19 regular-season starts across his first three years in the league while catching at least 30 passes each of those seasons.
The Coastal Carolina product is coming off the most productive season of his young career. Although the Ravens' 2024 campaign began with him barely missing out on a toe-tapping, and potentially-game-tying touchdown in a road defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs, Likely notched single-season personal bests in receptions (42), receiving yards (477) and receiving touchdowns (6).
He made a career-high nine regular-season starts and dropped only one pass, according to Pro Football Focus. In two playoff games, he combined for seven receptions, 126 receiving yards and a touchdown. In both of those postseason outings — the first a wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the next a divisional-round loss to the Buffalo Bills — he logged three or more catches and 50-plus receiving yards. His touchdown came with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter of the Bills game and gave the Ravens a chance to tie things up. But Andrews dropped a pass from two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson on the subsequent two-point attempt, and the Ravens fell, 27-25.
When Andrews missed significant time with an ankle injury amid the 2023 season, Likely stepped into a bigger role. During the seven games Andrews was sidelined, Likely averaged 44.3 offensive snaps per game, per PFF. In that span, which included a divisional-round win over the Houston Texans, he caught 23 passes for 356 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Likely is in the final year of his rookie contract. He's the Ravens' TE2, but he's proved how capable he is of leading a tight end room.
The Ravens hope and expect he'll return to the field soon.