The Baltimore Ravens were left sweating on the damage to Zay Flowers’ knee after the wide receiver was ruled out of his team’s Week 18 clash against the Cleveland Browns.
During the second quarter, Flowers, who serves as the team’s top receiver, went down and was seen clutching his right leg.
Flowers suffered the injury after his foot got caught on a teammate’s leg as a defender from the Browns made contact with his knee. He did not play another snap before heading off the field.
The worry for Ravens fans, with the team likely hosting a Wild Card matchup next week, is whether Flowers could miss the postseason – and hurt the team’s Super Bowl hopes.
At the beginning of the second half on Saturday, Flowers was downgraded from questionable to return to out. But the Ravens have not shared any specifics about Flowers’ exact condition.
Many teams sit their best players in Week 18 to preserve injuries ahead of the postseason.
Ravens’ Zay Flowers suffered a knee injury against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday
Flowers is Baltimore’s top receiver and will need to be at his best for the Ravens to win a title
The Ravens are likely to host a Wild Card playoff game next weekend by winning their division
Baltimore could not afford that luxury with the Pittsburgh Steelers still possibly passing them on the final weekend of the regular season for the AFC North crown.
Flowers’ injury gave credence to Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, who is likely to sit out several of his key players in Week 18 against the New York Giants.
The Eagles are locked into the No 2 seed in the NFC no matter how the game against their division rivals ends.
One of the players subject to sitting out is Saquon Barkley, who is only 100 yards away from setting the NFL’s all-time rushing record for yards in a single season.
With a win, the Giants’ draft position will likely plummet after being close to securing the top pick last week.