Ravens coach John Harbaugh vows to 'change a lot' to avoid another injury-plagued season

The Ravens endured multiple frustrating injury setbacks before the start of the regular season, so much so that head coach John Harbaugh found himself answering questions about Baltimore's practice surface ahead of Week 1. 

Such issues didn't go away once meaningful games began. As Jamison Hensley noted for ESPN, the Ravens ultimately placed 25 players on injured reserve and tied a franchise record by utilizing 75 active players throughout the campaign. Baltimore nevertheless won eight of its first 11 matchups but ended the season on a six-game losing streak, as star quarterback Lamar Jackson missed the final four contests with an ankle injury. 

Harbaugh spoke with reporters Monday and vowed to fix what became the Ravens' biggest problem this past season. 

"You can call it bad luck. You can say it's a fluke. I get that," Harbaugh explained. "I don't feel like we have the luxury to live there. We have to turn over every stone. We've got to look at every possible avenue to do the best we can to make sure this doesn't happen again. That's what we plan on doing."

Harbaugh added "we're going to change a lot" as it pertains to offseason training activities, training camp workouts, regular-season practices, and programs for players recovering from injuries. 

"We're going to do everything we can do to make sure we come through as strong as we can be, ready to attack the season when the season starts," he said. "We're not going to take it and say it's OK. Some of it has to be fixed."

One can only wonder what would have been for the Ravens had they stayed healthy, as the Cincinnati Bengals ultimately took advantage of Baltimore's struggles and won the AFC North title en route to earning a spot in the upcoming Super Bowl.