Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh confirmed Monday that nickelback Tavon Young will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.
The team had feared that was the injury after Sunday's game.
On the second defensive series of the Ravens' 33-16 victory over the Texans, Young leaped to break up a pass and landed hard on the NRG Stadium turf in Houston. He departed the game with a left knee injury and never returned.
The Ravens are deep at cornerback and can replace Young in a couple of ways. Baltimore can use third-year reserve Anthony Averett at nickelback or put Jimmy Smith, a former six-year starter, on the outside and move Marlon Humphrey to nickelback against three-wide-receiver sets.
This is the latest setback for Young, who had missed two of the previous three full seasons with injuries. Young, 26, tore his ACL during the 2017 offseason and then saw his 2019 season end because of a neck injury in training camp.
A fourth-round pick in 2016, Young became the NFL's highest-paid nickelback 19 months ago, when he signed a three-year, $25.8 million deal that included a $10 million signing bonus. He has played only one full game since.
Young is the second Ravens cornerback to suffer a season-ending injury. Iman Marshall, a fourth-round pick in 2019, suffered a knee injury early in training camp.