Trey Hendrickson's Finger Surgery Tests Ravens' Pass Rush

Football is the only sport where a guy gets a body part sliced open and surgically repaired, and his head coach immediately hops on a microphone to promise everyone it is no big deal.

That is exactly where we are with Baltimore Ravens pass rusher Trey Hendrickson. According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Hendrickson is officially out for this week's matchup against the Tennessee Titans after undergoing finger surgery.

"HC Jesse Minter says it’ll be a 'very, very short-term' absence."

The silver lining for Baltimore is that head coach Jesse Minter is already doing damage control, calling the recovery a "very, very short-term" absence. You have to respect the optimism of an NFL coach pretending a surgical procedure is basically just a bad hangnail.

The Ravens are coming off a 34-31 shootout win over the Dallas Cowboys, a game where they proved they can win a track meet. But missing a guy who practically lives in the opponent's backfield completely shifts the math for anyone looking at Baltimore's defensive props or the Titans' team total this Sunday. You do not just replace Hendrickson's production with a backup and a prayer.

For now, Baltimore just needs to survive the Titans without their star edge rusher. If Minter's timeline is actually rooted in medical reality and not just standard coach-speak, Hendrickson should be back to ruining quarterbacks' afternoons before we even hit mid-October.