Baltimore Ravens Next Man Up At Running Back

The Baltimore Ravens will turn to rookie Javorius “Buck” Allen and Terrance West following the injury to running back Justin Forsett against the St. Louis Rams.

The Baltimore Ravens had a rough day on Sunday. They were able to defeat the St. Louis Rams, 16-13, but lost two key pieces on offense when Joe Flacco tore his ACL and MCL and Justin Forsett broke his right arm. Now the Ravens will be playing without half of their starting offense with Steve Smith Sr., Jeremy Zuttah and Breshad Perriman also on injured reserve.

The Ravens signed Matt Schaub this offseason to be the backup for Joe Flacco and the job is now his for the rest of the season. But what happens to the running game with Forsett and Lorenzo Taliaferro out?

The first man up for the Ravens will be Javorius Allen, who has shown flashes of being an every down back in the NFL. He finished with 22 carries for 67 yards and five catches for 48 yards once Forsett was forced out of the game. He has 249 yards on 64 carries and 13 receptions for 106 yards so far this season. Head Coach John Harbaugh complimented his rookie running back after the game.

“Buck Allen, he played like a pro. He played like a top-caliber NFL running back. You saw it out there. He made guys miss. He made plays in the passing game, plays in the run game.”

Raheem Mostert was the other back dressed for Sunday’s game, but did not log a carry on the game. In fact, fullback Kyle Juszczyk received the first two carries of his career late in the game on Sunday over Mostert.

It will be interesting to see what the Ravens do with hometown talent Terrance West. West has the most experience of the three running backs on the roster, albeit it was one season with the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens are West’s third team in less than two seasons, but there is no denying he has the skills. It’s a matter of getting his act together. And if he needed some motivation, it just so happens that this week’s opponent is his old team.

The list of free agents options is not too exciting. Kendall Hunter, Bryce Brown, Montee Ball and Daniel Thomas are the “big” names out there, but it’s highly unlikely that the Ravens will bring them in over the likely combination of Allen and West.

And of course, you cannot talk about running backs in Baltimore without bringing up Ray Rice. Rice has been out of the league since the infamous video of him knocking out his now-wife was made public. As desperate as the Ravens are for backs at this time, there is little reason to believe that Rice will make his return to the NFL in Baltimore.

The Ravens are down to their third, fourth and fifth options at running back in a season that has been disappointing to say the least. Allen was drafted in the fourth round to potentially be the future at the position and his time is now. West is another intriguing prospect that the Ravens are excited about. Neither was expected to get significant playing time so soon.

That’s the rough side of the NFL. Injuries happen and the cliché “next man up” is where the Ravens are at this point in the season. The coaching staff is hopeful that one of their young, but talented backs can make an impact and potentially be the lead man heading into next season as well.

Next: Matt Schaub Takes Over For Joe Flacco

The Ravens have nothing to play for in terms of playoff hopes, but they will be evaluating the youngsters on the roster the rest of the way. Allen, West and Mostert have an opportunity to show the Ravens and the rest of the NFL that they have what it takes to play in this league.