The Baltimore Ravens are signing veteran safety Duron Harmon to the practice squad, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on Tuesday.
“Harmon has played a lot of football with 78 career starts and 86 tackles/2 INTs for Raiders last year,” wrote Fowler. “Insurance for injured Marcus Williams.”
The 32-year-old Harmon has played 10 NFL seasons split between the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders after being selected by the Pats in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
“Harmon worked out for Ravens during training camp,” reported The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec on Tuesday. “Gives Ravens another veteran option along with Daryl Worley with Marcus Williams out ‘a while,' according to Harbaugh.”
The Rutgers product earned the nickname ‘the Closer' throughout his career for his knack for game-sealing interceptions late in the game while playing in New England in the mid-2010s.
He played on three of the Patriots Super Bowl championship teams.
The roster move comes after defensive back Marcus Williams is feared to have tore his pectoral in Week 1 against the Houston Texans. He exited the game in the first half, and was quickly downgraded to out after the severity of the ailment was determined.
“The exact extent of Williams' injury and the timeline of his potential absence remains to be seen,” wrote Baltimore Beatdown's Frank Platko on Sunday night.
“Regardless, this is a significant blow to the Ravens' defense, as he's one of the team's most important players. That's only become more true in recent weeks with injuries to other players in the secondary, most notably cornerback Marlon Humphrey.”
It's been a brutal start to the season on the injury front for the Ravens, who have lost starting running back JK Dobbins to a torn ACL which will cost him the entire 2023 season. On top of that, the team is awaiting MRI results on offensive linemen Tyler Linderbaum and Ronnie Stanley, after both players exited in the second half on Sunday.
Various Baltimore players could be on the shelf for an extended period of time, and Duron Harmon might not be the only player brought in as a replacement.