Teddye Buchanan’s strong rookie season came to an end Sunday in Cincinnati, as Head Coach John Harbaugh confirmed Monday that the linebacker suffered a torn ACL.
He went down on a non-contact play while covering a punt. Harbaugh said the hope is that he’ll be back and ready to go by next year’s training camp.
Buchanan’s 93 tackles are the second-most on the team behind Roquan Smith (114).
It’s tough for any rookie to start on the Ravens’ defense, but Buchanan did it as a fourth-round pick who played just one year of top-level college football at Cal. He started 13 of 14 games and played 69% of the defensive snaps.
“Teddye did a great job. Just to see his progress, see him grow as a player on defense and special teams, it’s just been really fun,” Harbaugh said. “Nobody’s into it more than he is. He’s just great. … It’s unfortunate and disappointing, and it’ll be part of his story going forward.”
The Ravens turned to third-year linebacker Trenton Simpson after Buchanan went down and Simpson answered with nine tackles against the Bengals.
Simpson has improved this season and currently ranks as the Ravens’ fifth-highest graded defensive player by Pro Football Focus. Harbaugh said he’s “really not worried about it at all.”
“Trent had a really good game, played well, has been practicing great,” Harbaugh said. “Every time he’s been playing, he’s been playing well, too. I expect Trenton to come in there and build on what Teddye’s been doing so far and what Trenton’s been doing.”