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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It looks like the Baltimore Ravens will be without the NFL’s co-leading tackler when they play at the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.
Pro Bowl middle linebacker Roquan Smith is unlikely to play due to a hamstring injury, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday. This would mark the first time Smith would be sidelined for a game due to injury since he was with the Chicago Bears at the end of the 2019 season, when he finished the season on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle.
Smith left on the first play of the fourth quarter in a 18-16 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 17 and did not return. He didn’t practice all week and had been listed as questionable for Monday’s game.
Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said last week the team would replace Smith by committee, which could mean Malik Harrison starts and rotates with Chris Board.
“Not one person is going to replace Roquan,” Orr said last week. “Roquan’s an every-down linebacker [and] a top linebacker in this league [and] All-Pro for a reason. We like our guys that we have in the room. They got to step up, and we got to step up collectively as a defense, and that linebacker room [has] to step up collectively as a group.”
Smith, 27, is tied with the Indianapolis Colts‘ Zaire Franklin for the league lead in tackles with 110. The Ravens’ defense has struggled with this season, ranking 26th in total yards (362.0) and 23rd in points allowed (24.6).
The only time Smith has missed a game for Baltimore was the 2023 regular-season finale, when the Ravens sat him after clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC.