Ravens safety suffers potential season-ending injury vs Vikings

Baltimore Ravens safety and former Texas football star DeShon Elliott suffered a potential season-ending pec and bicep injury against the Minnesota Vikings. Head coach John Harbaugh first reported the injuries would end Elliott’s season during his postgame press conference.

Elliott finished Sunday’s game with six tackles, including two tackles for loss, helping lead Baltimore to a 34-31 overtime win. Despite leaving early, he finished with the second most tackles on his team.

The fourth-year safety has 21 starts over the past two seasons, becoming a key piece in the Ravens defensive backfield. The registered his first career interception this season, adding to seven career pass deflections. He has 109 career tackles, with 3.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits.

Elliott’s injury comes at an unfortunate time, cutting his contract year short. His four-year, $2.6 million contract runs out this offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent. After missing his first NFL season with injury and cutting into the 2019 campaign, Elliott played 2020 without incident.

Former NFL doctor weighs in

David J. Chao, a former NFL head team doctor with more than 17 years of experience, runs profootballdoc.com, which evaluates injuries based on past experience and video evidence, along with notable reports from around the league. During Sunday night’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings, he provided his thoughts on the DeShon Elliott pec and bicep injury.

After reviewing the video evidence, Chao believes Elliott was injured while attempting to tackle Vikings fullback CJ Ham. He agrees with John Harbaugh’s assessment.

“By video, it happened on the CJ Ham reception,” posted Chao. “Elliott tried to hook him as he ran by. Pec tendon tear and season over with surgery.”

Another former Longhorn helps Ravens

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay delivered when Lamar Jackson needed it most, making a highlight-reel play to tie up the game in the fourth quarter.

The Ravens trailed the Minnesota Vikings, 24017, before receiving the ball with just over four minutes left in the third quarter. Then, Jackson and the Ravens offense orchestrated a slow, methodical drive that saw Baltimore run 18 plays for 83 yards in over 10 minutes of game time. On the 18th play of the drive, Jackson on second-and-goal from the Vikings’ five-yard line took a shotgun snap, then found Duvernay in the end zone.

The pass, however, was a bit out of Duvernay’s reach, as Jackson placed it a bit too high and away from the 5-foot-11, 200-pound wideout. It didn’t quite matter for Duvernay, who saved his quarterback by extending for a toe-tap, one-handed touchdown grab. The Texas product’s touchdown, coupled with fellow Texas alumnus Justin Tucker’s extra point, tied up the game at 24 apiece with just over nine minutes remaining.