Ravens wideout Steve Smith Sr. has been diagnosed with four broken bones in his back, reports Chick Hernandez of CSNMidAtlantic.com (via Twitter). The injury was sustained during Thursday night’s victory over the Steelers. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the veteran may be able to play through the injury due to his high pain tolerance, although his status going forward is uncertain.
Smith wasn’t particularly happy about the hit from Lawrence Timmons during the third quarter of Thursday’s contest, although he wrongly attributed the dirty play to former teammate Mike Mitchell.
“The best thing I could do without threatening him and saying, ‘I will assault him when I see him’ is I will say, ‘I look forward to playing him again, and he’s on my lifetime hit list,’” the receiver said (via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com).
The 36-year-old’s second season with the Ravens has been outstanding through the first quarter of the season, as he’s caught 29 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns. ProFootballFocus.com (subscription required) has been particularly fond of his performance, as Smith has earned the third-highest rating among wideouts in 2015. The 15-year veteran is planning on retiring following the season.
The Ravens depth at receiver took another hit today, as Michael Campanaro was placed on the injured reserve. This followed news that rookie wideout Breshad Perriman is out indefinitely following surgery on an injured PCL. The team has already added one replacement, acquiring Chris Givens from the Rams earlier today.
