Baltimore will be without Trey Hendrickson on Sunday, with head coach Jesse Minter confirming Friday that the outside linebacker has been ruled out for Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans.
Hendrickson, 31, has been dealing with multiple fractures in a finger on his right hand since Week 1. He kept playing through it with a cast and still managed to avoid any real dip in production, but this week brought a different reality: he missed all three practices while the Ravens worked toward a more permanent fix.
“We were able to get the finger fixed,” Minter explained. “We think it’ll be very, very short term…think that’s going to be best for us moving forward, long-term.”
The injury opens the door for more work on the edge, especially for second-year rusher Mike Green. The 2025 second-round pick showed flashes in Week 2 against the Saints, though he has otherwise been quiet in what was supposed to be a breakout sophomore season.
Another second-round pick, rookie Zion Young, could also get more chances to rush the passer after standing out more for his physical run defense through his first three NFL games. Undrafted rookie Ethan Burke is also set to be part of Minter’s game-day plans for the first time this season.
Baltimore’s investment in Hendrickson came with the injury risk already built in. The Ravens gave him $60 million in fully guaranteed money this spring, betting on the kind of dominant play he showed when healthy in 2023 and 2024. The concern, though, has always been availability: he missed time in every previous season and played only seven games last year before having core muscle surgery.
Even with the broken finger, Hendrickson has looked like a major return on that money. He has 14 pressures, with four in Week 1 and 10 more over the next two games while wearing the cast, which ranks sixth in the league according to Pro Football Focus. His 16.3% pass rush win rate leads Baltimore’s defensive line, and Next Gen Stats ranks him as the league’s fourth-best edge rusher in both categories as well.
The move now gives Hendrickson a chance to heal fully and avoid the injury lingering later in the season. Minter’s wording suggested the Ravens wanted time to assess the fracture and settle on the best long-term solution before sending him back out there.
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