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          NFL Nation

          Cringe-worthy count: Ravens have now lost nine players in past 72 days

          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterAug 12, 2017, 11:01 AM
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              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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          OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens have lost a chunk of what would've made up their regular-season roster, and it's only one game into their preseason schedule.

          The Ravens have lost nine players in the past 72 days after they announced Friday that starting left guard Alex Lewis (shoulder) and receiver-returner Tim White (thumb) will undergo season-ending surgeries.

          That's nearly an average of one player every week going down for the season (one every eight days, to be exact). That's 17 percent of Baltimore's projected 53-man roster gone, and it's just the middle of August.

          Here are the players the Ravens have lost due to injury, suspension or retirement since June 1:

          • Tavon Young, a starter last season and a promising nickelback, tore his ACL on June 1;

          • Dennis Pitta, who led all NFL tight ends with 86 catches last season, suffered a likely career-ending hip injury June 2;

          • Darren Waller, a special-teams standout and a backup tight end, was suspended for the season June 30 for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy;

          • Kenneth Dixon, the team's most elusive running back, hurt his knee while training at Louisiana Tech and underwent season-ending surgery July 25;

          • John Urschel, who was competing for the starting center job, retired a couple hours before the first practice of training camp July 27;

          • Crockett Gillmore, who was battling for a starting tight end spot, sustained a season-ending knee injury July 28;

          • Nico Siragusa, a rookie fourth-round pick, tore his ACL, PCL and MCL on Aug. 1 after getting caught in a pile during a running play in camp;

          • Lewis, who started eight games as a rookie last season, tore his labrum in his shoulder and decided Friday to undergo surgery after it didn't respond to treatment;

          • White, an undrafted rookie who started Thursday as well as served as the primary returner, hurt his thumb in the preseason opener.

          A significant run of injuries isn't anything new for the Ravens. Baltimore has placed 39 players (21 in 2015 and 18 last season) on injured reserve the past two seasons.

          If this summer is any indication, that IR number for the Ravens will continue to grow in 2017.