Ayanbadejo placed on IR, Gaither might play Sunday
October 6th, 2009 | by Kevin Hanson |The Ravens suffered a big loss this week. Not only did they lose the game to the Patriots, but linebacker and special teams star Brendon Ayanbadejo, who tore a tendon in his left quadriceps, will have season-ending surgery and be placed on injured reserve (IR).
Ayanbadejo, who was named the Week 3 AFC Defensive Player of the Week, was hurt when he tackled Patriots running back Sammy Morris on a screen play.
“It’s a big loss, it’s something we’re going to have to fill,” [Ravens coach John] Harbaugh said [yesterday], according to Dan Kolko of MASN Sports. “Obviously someone is going to have to step up. Being a Pro Bowl special teams player is pretty impressive, and being a multiple Pro Bowl special teams player. Now he’s that and he’s a starter in a basic sub package, which is on the field for 20-30 plays a game. That’s a big loss for us. It’s disappointing to lose him, but he’ll be back here next year ready to go.”
To take Ayanbadejo’s roster spot, the Ravens re-signed Prescott Burgess, who was the team’s sixth-round pick in 2007, from the Patriots’ practice squad. A couple of weeks ago, the Ravens traded Burgess to New England for a conditional seventh-round pick.
As far as left tackle Jared Gaither is concerned, there is a chance that he could play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Gaither, who was carried off the field on a stretcher, had an MRI yesterday and his X-rays were negative on Sunday.
“We’re real hopeful,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “It could be he could play this week because it’s not a serious injury as far as we know right now. It could be a couple of weeks, it could be longer. It’s wait and see.”
Ayanbadejo was second on the team in tackles (22) through the first four games.
By Tim Keogh on Oct 9, 2009
We would all be fooling ourselves if we thought marquee players did not get calls from refs, penalties that are (or aren’t) and other “perks” to complement their rock star image. As a Ravens fan I got to see another dose of that last week, on the phantom “roughing” call to Prince Valiant Brady.