BALTIMORE (Heartland Newsfeed) — The Baltimore Ravens announced Sunday that safety Tony Jefferson sustained a knee injury during their 26-23 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in overt, ending the season for him.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters in a post-game press conference that Jefferson suffered an injury in his ACL with potential further damage in his knee.
“He at least has an ACL and probably more,” Harbaugh said. “We said a prayer over him, and he’ll find a way to come back stronger than before.”
Jefferson’s injury in his left knee took place with a little more than nine minutes in the fourth quarter, was carted off the field and eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Jefferson, the Ravens’ veteran defensive back who was one of the franchise’s defensive leaders, was in charge of commanding defensive calls to teammates. He had entered Sunday’s game as the second-leading tackler for Baltimore.
Chuck Clark, who has been inked for two starts over three NFL seasons, is slated to replace Jefferson in the starting lineup
Jefferson’s knee injury adds on to the injury list among the Ravens’ secondary, which lost cornerback Tavon Young for the remainder of the season as a result of a neck injury and cornerback Jimmy Smith, who has been missing for the past four weeks with a knee injury.
Jefferson recorded 21 tackles and defended three passes in the 2019-20 NFL season.
Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.