OWINGS MILLS, Md. – John Harbaugh said Monday it is a legitimate question to ask why runner JK Dobbins played the preseason finale, but stressed that the Baltimore Ravens are among the teams that play their starters the least.
Dobbins suffered an injury at the end of the season in the first outing of Saturday’s 37-3 loss to Washington. He broke the ACL in his left knee in the ninth play of the match.
Asked what he would tell fans to ask why Dobbins was involved in the game, Harbaugh said, “It’s a fair conversation.”
Harbaugh noted then that Dobbins had only played 23 plays (with a total of 10 touchdowns) in three preseason games. He said there are other teams playing their headlines extensively, including some in the AFC North.
“But there are other teams that don’t play their guys at all,” Harbaugh said. “They don’t play their headlines for a single moment. We’re probably as close to that as we’ve been … I know we’re further down that road than ever. We’ve played our boys so little this low season. it’s been like we did it. But every time a guy gets hurt, you ask yourself those questions. “
Harbaugh said he believes Gus Edwards and Ty’Son Williams will fill the void left by Dobbins. But he noted that Baltimore uses a committee-based repeat approach and will distribute the expenses to the three active runners on match day. The other runners on the list are Justice Hill and Nate McCrary.
“Like any injury … you just have to get close to it and get over it,” Harbaugh said. “We have the players to do it. We have the team to do it. And I have full confidence in the rest of the runners who are here to take the load and do a great job for us.”