Ravens LB Impresses in First Game Back

Saturday's game against the Atlanta Falcons marked the first appearance for Baltimore Ravens linebacker David Ojabo in nearly a year, but with the way he played, it's like he barely missed a beat.

The third-year pass-rusher didn't show up much on the stat sheet, recording just one QB hit and no tackles. However, Ojabo had several strong rushes that made life difficult for Falcons quarterback Taylor Heinicke, helped by the fact that two of them came on third-down.

For Ojabo's first game back in so long, the Ravens loved what they saw out of him.

"It seemed like [Ojabo] was out there, and he was a factor," head coach John Harbaugh said after the game. It looked like he was really stout against the run. I thought he set some edges really well. He had his eyes back inside – falling back on the ball – trying to get in the C gap a few times, and then, [his] pass rush was a factor out there. He had some pressures. He looked good."

Ojabo's 2023 season sadly came to an early end when he suffered a season-ending injury against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3, although he would not undergo surgery until late November. That injury came on the heels of him missing most of his rookie season with a torn Achilles he suffered at Michigan's 2022 Pro Day.

With just five regular season games in two seasons, Ojabo has unfortunately been the victim of some of the league's worst injury luck to start his career. It's no wonder that he was so eager to finally get back into game action on Saturday.

"[Ojabo] was excited to get out there," outside linebacker Tavius Robinson said. "It's good to be out there with him and communicating [with him in the] backfield and all that. He looks great, and it's going to be a great season for him, as well."

The Nigerian-born linebacker had a very impressive 2021 season at Michigan, racking up 11 sacks to earn first-team Big Ten and second-team All-American honors. He's clearly a very talented player, and if he can finally stay healthy, he could be a tremendous asset for the Ravens' defense.