Will Hill could be called up to Ravens' roster this week

Early in the season there was plenty of concern in the back end at free safety.

Though safety play has been average for the most part, cornerback Jimmy Smith and a strong front-seven have masked problems for the most part. Teams aren't getting much time to pick apart the secondary, which certainly has helped the back end.

This week, the Ravens are eligible to get back someone that could strengthen the back end, and that's safety Will Hill. Hill's suspension is lifted, though he has a one-week roster exemption to practice under. Essentially, Hill can practice this week, and if the Ravens decide not to play him, then they can keep him out and not have him count toward the 53-man roster. By early next week, he'll have to be on the roster or cut.

It's certainly a viable option to sit him since Hill hasn't practiced until this week. But then again, if Hill can step in and contribute immediately, why not go ahead and make the move?

"It just depends on where [Will Hill is] at physically," coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Monday. "He has been in every meeting, so he should be caught up mentally. There is a difference though between sitting in a meeting ... Any one of us can understand the defense if we had the talent. We still might go out there and you get on the field, and it's a different perspective. It really is. So, even understanding what to do, it's a different perspective. We'll have to see how he looks in practice. You have to mix it in with how he fits, what our personnel looks like, those kind of things. But if he can help us and it's the best fit on the 46, then he would be."

If the Ravens do make a decision, they'll likely wait until Saturday before making a roster move. This would be done by design, to keep Atlanta from gaining any kind of competitive advantage the Ravens could perceive taking place.

Hill offers some versatility in the back end. And if he's still capable of playing like he did with the Giants, then he would be viewed as an upgrade over Darian Stewart. We'll have to wait and see if Hill gets the call this week or next.