Baltimore Ravens lose promising rookie for several weeks in brutal injury blow just one week into NFL season

Baltimore Ravens rookie Ja'Kobi Lane's NFL debut was cut short by what the team believes is a fractured wrist he suffered in the Week 1 win over the Indianapolis Colts. 

The rookie third-round pick will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the full extent of the injury. He is expected to be out at least several weeks, but a definitive recovery period has not been revealed. The wrist fracture was first reported by NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. 

Lane was targeted three times by Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson before suffering the injury and did make one catch for 11 yards.

The injury comes after an impressive preseason for the 6ft 4in USC product, which included five catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. 

He may have slipped in the draft because he's not considered a major threat after the catch, but Lane's size and hands led talent evaluators to envision him as a productive possession receiver. Naturally, the injury was not only discouraging for Lane, but Ravens fans, who were excited to pair him with Jackson. 

'Such a shame, he was about to have a good game in Indy and now is out,' one angry Ravens supporter wrote on X.  

And Lane's injury may not be the most notable for the Ravens, who also lost receiver Zay Flowers after he caught five passes for 150 yards. Flowers went down with a hamstring injury and will also have an MRI on Monday. 

The 41-23 win over the Colts was the Ravens' first under new coach Jesse Minter, who replaced John Harbaugh before the season.

'It's surreal a little bit, honestly,' Minter said. 'I don't know if it's actually hit me. It's a blessing to be where I'm at. There's such appreciation that we have to the organization that gave us this opportunity. Having my dad on the sideline at the end, that was a really special moment.'

Despite the injuries at receiver, Jackson still tossed for 324 yards and a touchdown on Sunday to go with seven carries for 40-yards and another score on the ground. Baltimore running back Derrick Henry added 144 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.

'It was a great start,' Henry said. 'We know what we're capable of. We just had to go out and do it. It wasn't perfect. But it's definitely a great game to build off of and carry confidence into next week.'

'The offense came out on fire,' Minter said. 'The confidence grows when you prepare well. We put a lot of time into [Sunday's] game because it's the first one of the year, and you have the time to prepare. You want to see the preparation pay off. I felt like it did in all three phases.' 

Meanwhile, Minter’s defense held the Colts to just 112 yards of offense in the first half and another 139 in the second.

What’s more, Baltimore forced a pair of turnovers while keeping Colts quarterback Daniel Jones under pressure for most of the game.