Baltimore Ravens Brent Urban suffers ‘long-term’ knee injury

Baltimore Ravens rookie defensive end Brent Urban was a solid fourth-round flier in this year’s draft, and the former Virginia star has an intriguing 6’7″, 295-pound frame. Set to be a rotational DE in the Ravens 3-4 defense as a rookie, Urban isn’t as touted as fellow rookie DL Timmy Jernigan, who is a second-round selection, but he has the physical tools to make an impact as a backup. He isn’t a disruptive pass rusher by any means, but he’s a quality, well-rounded piece.

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That said, it looks like Urban might not be able to make an impact as a rookie, as Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reports that Urban has suffered a “long-term” right knee injury. This is absolutely crushing news, because you hate to see a rookie suffer an injury of this magnitude before even taking a preseason snap. The magnitude of Urban’s injury is unclear, as is the timetable for his return.

At this point, we can only cross our fingers and hope for the best, and this injury hurts the Ravens depth up front. They’re still fine on the D-Line, though, with the likes of Haloti Ngata, Chris Canty, and Jernigan. Urban has long-term value to the Ravens due to his length and ability to offer solid run defending, but if this knee injury is serious, then big questions about his pass rushing ability will surface if it saps out enough of his athletic ability and explosiveness.