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While the first game of the NFL Preseason can oftentimes be brushed off by fans and veteran players alike, it’s different for those suiting up in a full gameday uniform for the first time in their career.
One of those wide-eyed rookies was Baltimore Ravens cornerback Bilhal Kone, a sixth-round NFL Draft selection from Western Michigan. Kone wasted no time making an impact in the Ravens’ Thursday night preseason opener vs. the Indianapolis Colts, logging his first tackle in the opening quarter.
But four plays later, Kone’s promising rookie campaign concluded immediately after it started. In the final minute of the first quarter, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones targeted wide receiver Ashton Dulin in the front right corner of the end zone. Kone attempted to break up the pass in solo coverage against Dulin, but in the process of making a play on the ball, he fell near the goal line. As soon as Kone collided with the ground, his leg turned sideways in gruesome fashion — unable to move.
The Western Michigan alum was carted off the field and did not return. Kone tore both his ACL and MCL. Harbaugh confirmed in his postgame press conference that the rookie will miss the entire 2025 season.
“BK is gonna be out for the season it looks like,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in his postgame press conference. “He has a torn ligament in his knee unfortunately.”
Harbaugh further elaborated on the emotional moment in a press conference at M&T Bank Stadium.
“[It was] very emotional. He playing well, too. Even in that play, he made a heck of a play,” Harbaugh said in his press conference, per baltimoreravens.com. “And then even seeing him in the locker room just now was really hard, very hard. But like I told him, ‘The sun will come up tomorrow. If the sun doesn’t come up tomorrow, we will have much bigger problems. So, the sun will come up tomorrow, you’ll get this taken care of. You’ll be rehabbing. You’re part of our team, and you’ll be back. So, it’s just not on the time that you hope for.’ So, I think he’ll see that in due time.”
This delays Kone’s goal of officially starting his NFL career in the regular season. The cornerback traversed an impressive pathway to get here, climbing up from Iowa Central Community College to Indiana State of the FCS before onboarding at Western Michigan. Kone spent the majority of his 2023 campaign at Western Michigan as a reserve before elevating to full-time starting status in 2024. He logged 70 tackles, one interception, and a team-high nine pass breakups as his Broncos qualified for their first bowl game in three seasons.
The 6’1”, 190 pound corner further elevated his draft stock at Senior Bowl week (he missed the actual game due to injury) and at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. He was one of four NFL Draft selections from the Mid-American Conference in April and extended Western Michigan’s streak of producing a draft pick to five-straight years.
After suffering the devastating ACL and MCL injury, Kone now begins the rehab process as he targets a return for the 2026 season.
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