The Ravens' clean bill of health unfortunately didn't last long.
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey and wide receiver Rashod Bateman could miss time with injuries, Head Coach John Harbaugh said Monday afternoon.
Humphrey popped up with a finger injury late last week and played with his left hand heavily wrapped in Sunday's 27-19 win in Minnesota, but that didn't stop him from making an interception. However, Humphrey might need surgery for a long-term fix.
"He might need to get something done to tighten it up, which would mean he could play right away, maybe, or it might take a week to come back from that if he does decide to do it (surgery)," Harbaugh said.
"It would be a week at most, I'm told. When you say a week, I'm thinking maybe two or maybe none. If he decides to play with it and keep it wrapped up, then he can play this game (against Cleveland)."
Bateman suffered a sprained ankle that also shouldn't keep him out too long, if at all, Harbaugh said. Bateman has 16 catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns so far this season.
"I think he's going to be OK. He has an ankle sprain, and we'll see how serious it is," Harbaugh said. "We'll see [whether he'll miss time]. We'll probably know more on Wednesday."
The injury happened after Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers dragged down Bateman from behind just outside the goal line. Rodgers clearly dropped his weight on the back of Bateman's legs.
"What is a hip-drop tackle? It's an enigma, apparently, that can't be called during the game," Harbaugh said. "It looked like a hip-drop tackle."
Harbaugh said undrafted rookie inside linebacker Jay Higgins IV could miss a "few" weeks with an unspecified injury coming out of the game. Higgins has played 61% of the Ravens' special teams snaps and made six tackles.
Harbaugh Wants Keaton Mitchell Even More Involved
Keaton Mitchell continues to impress with his limited reps, as he took four carries for 31 yards against the Vikings.
Mitchell exploded through the middle of the Minnesota defense for a 22-yard gain in the second quarter and averaged 7.8 yards per carry.
After being inactive for the Ravens' first four games, Mitchell is averaging 6.2 yards per carry on his 15 attempts so far this season. Derrick Henry has averaged 4.8 yards per carry, and Justice Hill, who punched in a 1-yard touchdown in Minnesota, has averaged 5.2.
Harbaugh was asked whether he believes Mitchell, who has played 28 offensive snaps in five games, should see more action.
"Yes, I think more," Harbaugh said. "We should, and we were kind of intentional. We wanted to do more; just for whatever reason, we didn't get to it. Definitely, [we] want to see more Keaton.
"It's hard to take plays off Derrick Henry's plate. That's a challenge. I think anybody can understand that, but mixing it up is also a good thing, too, and I think all the guys understand the value of that, too. So, we are going to try to find that. It's going to be game to game, probably, but we will try to find that world where everybody's most effective."
Dre'Mont Jones Showed 'Good Flavor' in Ravens Debut
It didn't take Dre'Mont Jones long to take on a substantial role in the Ravens' defense.
Jones played 39 snaps (60%) in his debut. While he didn't make a tackle, Jones finished with two quarterback hits.
The Ravens also immediately tapped into Jones' versatility, as he played 14 snaps at left outside linebacker, 13 at right outside linebacker, and 10 at left defensive end, per Pro Football Focus.
"Boy, Dre'Mont; he did well," Harbaugh said. "He got all his assignments right, had all the terms right, and he was versatile along the line – I think we talked about that possibility during the week – and he was a factor. Physicality [and] quickness. He knows how to play the game. He added a good flavor to it."
Ravens Didn't Cause Vikings' False Starts
The Vikings committed eight false start penalties Sunday, which was tied for the second-most in a game by a home team since 2000, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert.
While veteran running back Aaron Jones indicated that Ravens defensive line calls and motions could have caused the Vikings to move early, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said he asked players specifically about that and "did not get any indication from our guys they were doing that."
Teams are not allowed to try to simulate the other team's cadences or calls. Harbaugh saw Jones' claim, which was not corroborated by any of his teammates, and went to the tape to review.
"I went back and I watched it, because we didn't have a gameplan for that. If we did, I would've been happy, but we're not going to do anything illegal. If you stem, you make a move call, which is what you do; you're allowed to say, 'Move.' You're not allowed to say 'set,' or 'hut,' or anything else. Or a cadence, which we never have done. But then I watched all of them, and [on] none of them did we stem. Not one [time] did we move," Harbaugh said.
"They were doing a lot of cadences, they were doing a lot of [snaps] on two trying to draw us offsides. And then they were doing some shifts where they could uncover man [or] zone and try to see what we were in, and they jumped a few times when they were doing that to try to get to their alerts and their change of plays. So, like Coach O'Connell said, it wasn't anything we were doing."
