OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens are taking an exhaustive look at why they endured one of the most painful seasons in franchise history.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh recently met with his performance staff for four hours after a season in which Baltimore placed 25 players on injured reserve. The Ravens finished 8-9 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
“You can call it bad luck. You can say it’s a fluke. I get that,” Harbaugh said during Monday’s season-ending news conference. “I don’t feel like we have the luxury to live there. We have to turn over every stone. We’ve got to look at every possible avenue to do the best we can to make sure this doesn’t happen again. That’s what we plan on doing.”
The Ravens suited up 75 players this season, which tied a franchise record, and started 46 players over the course of the season. Baltimore had seven starters suffer season-ending injuries in the first nine weeks of the regular season, including its All-Pro left tackle (Ronnie Stanley), a Pro Bowl cornerback (Marcus Peters) and its top two running backs (J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards).
Harbaugh said the team is examining its schedules, from offseason training activities in the spring, to training camp, to the regular season. Baltimore will also look at how the players condition.
Head strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders will be retained, according to Harbaugh.
“We’re looking at everything, and we’re going to change a lot,” Harbaugh said. “We’re going to do everything we can do to make sure we come through as strong as we can be, ready to attack the season when the season starts. We’re not going to take it and say it’s OK. Some of it has to be fixed.”
Harbaugh is also evaluating how players recover from injuries. Stanley’s ankle injury has caused him to miss 25 of the last 26 regular-season games.
“I do believe that, as an organization, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure our rehab operation is cutting-edge and it’s at the highest level,” Harbaugh said.