Baltimore Ravens injury worth monitoring for Chiefs as Week 1 approaches

It took Kyle Hamilton a total of two seasons to become one of the best safeties in the game of football, a sophomore for the Baltimore Ravens who was just given Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors at the end of the 2023 season. He's also a key defender upon whom the Ravens hang a lot of what they want to do against an opponent like the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs know well what Hamilton can do having just beaten them in a tough AFC Conference championship game last winter shortly before winning their second consecutive Super Bowl. Now as both teams stare at a rematch in Week 1 to kick off the entire NFL season, the Ravens are hoping they'll have their star defender back again.

Hamilton has been dealing with a leg injury suffered in practice, per NFL reporter Jamison Hensley over the weekend, and the team is going to play it safe with the safety until he gets the all-clear from trainers. The team also knows that nothing before Week 1 is important anyway, so Baltimore fans should expect to see little of him in the interim.

The good news for the Ravens is that the early signs are positive from the team's medical checks. "It looks stable, it looks good," Harbaugh said. "Obviously we'll continue to do some tests tonight and tomorrow to make sure, but first indications are that he's fine." Hamilton had 13 pass deflections, 4 interceptions, and 3 sacks last season.

The Chiefs also suffered a key injury in the opening preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with the loss of wide receiver Marquise Brown to a sternoclavicular injury. Brown's status is in question for that first game of the year against the team that drafted him, so both sides have a key situation to monitor in the weeks ahead.

The good news for all parties is that there's still time to rest and recover before the NFL kickoff on Thursday, September 5.