The Ravens' already thin cornerbacks group just got even thinner.
Cornerback Asa Jackson suffered a knee injury that knocked him out of Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After the game, Head Coach John Harbaugh said he did not have a final word on Jackson's status moving forward.
Jackson was carried off the field by trainers and could not put any weight on his right leg.
That meant the Ravens are down to Lardarius Webb, Anthony Levine and Rashaan Melvin in the secondary. It was Melvin's first NFL game.
Jackson already missed seven games earlier this season with a toe injury. He returned for one full game against Miami as the team's No. 3 cornerback.
The injury, which came in the third quarter, seemed somewhat freakish. Jackson made a nice diving play to force a third-down incompletion, but was interfered with by a Jaguars receiver diving over his back. Jackson crashed hard to the turf but didn't seem to tweak the knee.
He popped up to celebrate the incompletion and quickly grabbed his knee and fell to the turf. He was soon ruled out for the remainder of the game.
The Ravens have already lost four cornerbacks to season-ending injuries: Jimmy Smith, Danny Gorrer, Aaron Ross and Tramain Jacobs.
Melvin was inserted into the game and immediately made his impact felt with two tackles (including one for a 5-yard loss) and a pass breakup (and near interception) on his first three plays from scrimmage. He finished with five tackles.
"I was just happy to take advantage of the opportunity to come in and help our team win," Melvin said. "This is my first career game. I've played a few preseason games, but there's nothing like that first real game of an actual season."
Baltimore also lost rookie safety Terrence Brooks as he was covering the opening kickoff of the game.
Harbaugh said Brooks' injury is season-ending as he suffered a torn PCL and MCL in his right knee. The third-round pick played in 11 games this season and finishes his year with 19 tackles and two passes defensed.
"The next guy has to step up, and they will," Harbaugh said. "This is a team sport, and our guys have done a good job with that so far, and they'll keep doing it."
The Ravens didn't activate veteran cornerback Antoine Cason, who they signed last week. Cason was trying to get up to speed with the team's terminology, but it was determined he wasn't quite ready to play in a game.
