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Ravens to promote Melvin Gordon, stick with committee after RB J.K. Dobbins’ season-ending injury

Melvin Gordon, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill will lead the Ravens’ rushing attack by committee this season

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh isn’t going to hunt down a new replacement for J.K. Dobbins.

Instead, Harbaugh said the team is going to use a committee in the backfield for the rest of the season after Dobbins tore an Achilles.

The Ravens plan to use both Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, along with former Pro Bowler Melvin Gordon, the rest of the way.

“I pretty much consider all the guys starters, really, just being truthful about it,” Harbaugh said Monday, via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “They all have to be able to play that well. They’re on the team for a reason — it’s because they’re good enough to do it, and all those backs are going to play quite a bit.”

Dobbins left early in the third quarter of the Ravens’ 25-9 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday with an apparent ankle injury. He was quickly ruled out of the game, and then the team confirmed after the win at M&T Bank Stadium that Dobbins had sustained an Achilles injury that would sideline him for the rest of the season.

Dobbins had eight carries for 22 yards and a touchdown in the game. He played in just eight games last season while recovering from an ACL injury that kept him out of the entire 2021 season and a later knee injury. He had 520 rushing yards and two touchdowns last season.

Dobbins, who the Ravens took in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, is in the final year of his initial four-year, $5.7 million deal. He missed part of training camp earlier this fall while seeking a new deal.

Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins tore his Achilles in the team’s win over Houston on Sunday, and will now miss the rest of the season
Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins tore an Achilles in the team’s win over Houston on Sunday, and will now miss the rest of the season. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Edwards had 32 rushing yards on eight carries in Sunday’s win over Houston, which made him the team’s leading rusher outside of quarterback Lamar Jackson. Justice Hill had nine yards on eight carries, but scored a pair of touchdowns.

Gordon signed a one-year deal with the Ravens earlier this summer, but was released and re-signed to the practice squad. He is now back on the team’s active roster. Gordon, 30, had 318 rushing yards and two touchdowns with the Denver Broncos last season.

"He's here for a reason and certainly didn't expect it to be this quick, but that's why he's here and that's why he wanted to stay here," Harbaugh said of Gordon, via ESPN. "He's a proven back, so I'm very, very glad that he's here."

Despite Dobbins’ injury, the Ravens rolled to the season-opening win over Houston on Sunday. Jackson went 17-of-22 for 169 yards through the air with one interception. Zay Flowers led the team with 78 receiving yards on nine catches. The Ravens are on the road to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.