Ravens TE Nick Boyle practices Wednesday after being designated to return from IR
Ravens tight end Nick Boyle practiced Wednesday after being designated to return from injured reserve.
Boyle, one of the NFL’s top blocking tight ends, has not played since suffering a season-ending knee injury in November against the New England Patriots. Boyle had a clean-up procedure on his knee over the summer, which delayed his return. The Ravens have 21 days before they must activate Boyle to their 53-man roster or place him on season-ending IR.
“We’ll just have to see how he does in practice, but he seems strong,” coach John Harbaugh said before practice Wednesday. “He’s been rehabbing out here really strong with the training staff and with the strength staff. I see him out here working for, really, months. And it’ll be a good test today to see how it feels in a football practice, even if it’s just individual periods. So we’ll see what he can do out here today and probably have more for you going forward.”
Boyle returned to practice in early September but reverted to IR on Sept. 10, giving him additional time to recover. Tight end Mark Andrews, one of Boyle’s closest friends, called his recovery “incredibly difficult.”
“I think everybody on the team knows how much he wants to be out here playing,” Andrews said on Wednesday. “This means so much to him, playing here and playing with his guys. It means a lot, and so for him to be able to be getting healthy and eventually be coming out, that’s the type of guy we need.”
Boyle started in nine games last season, recording 113 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 catches. In 2019, when he started 15 games, he was one of the NFL’s most versatile blockers on a record-setting rushing attack.
Boyle’s return from IR comes a day after All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley underwent season-ending ankle surgery.
