The Baltimore Ravens could be without one of their linebackers for some time. Kyle Van Noy suffered a fractured orbital bone during the season opening loss against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, according to the NFL Network. The 33-year-old will undergo further testing to determine the severity of the injury. How much time he will miss is not yet known.
Van Noy went down with the eye injury in the third quarter, walking to the sideline without assistance. He was initially ruled questionable and was eventually ruled out. Before he was sidelined, the veteran had one tackle and one quarterback hit.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, "an orbital fracture is when you break one or more of the bones that make up your eye socket. ... This bony cavity contains your eyeball, eye muscles, blood vessels, nerves and other structures. Blunt force trauma -- when something hits your eye very hard -- is the most common cause of an orbital fracture."
There are multiple different types of orbital fractures, the most common kind is a blowout fracture, which is "a break along the floor or thin inner wall of your eye socket" and typically is caused by getting hit in the eye with something, like a fist or a ball.
An orbital rim fracture "affects the bony outer edges of your eye socket" and due to the thickness of the bone in this area, it takes a lot of force to cause this fracture. It is typically caused by something like a car accident.
An orbital floor fracture "is when the bones of the rim of your eye socket push back, causing your orbital floor bones to buckle downward" and impact the nerves and muscles around the eye, usually caused by falls or car accidents.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, treatment varies depending on the type of fracture and severity of the injury. Some may require surgery, but not all. It is not known which type of fracture Van Noy has.
Symptoms of an orbital fracture can include, but are not limited to, blurred vision, double vision, decreased vision, swelling, bruising, numbness, trouble moving your eye and nosebleeds.
David Ojabo, Tavius Robinson and Malik Harrison are some options to replace Van Noy, if he does end up missing some time.
In 2023, in his first year with the Ravens, he had 30 tackles and a career-high nine sacks in 14 games. Van Noy earned a two-year, $12 million extension this offseason.