Should Ravens CB Chris Lewis-Harris start over Shareece Wright vs. Bengals?

The Baltimore Ravens are set to take on its AFC North division rival in the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and it looks like the team will be without cornerback Jimmy Smith for the second straight game as he deals with a back injury.

In Smith’s absence, the Ravens started cornerback Shareece Wright against the Dallas Cowboys last week and it didn’t go too well at all. Wright has struggled all season and he doesn’t look to be getting any better as he has allowed a total of six touchdown passes this season as he continues to leave 10 yard cushions to opposing wide receivers and at times commit costly penalties. Through the first seven weeks of the season, Pro Football Focus noted that Wright was the only player in the Ravens secondary who was given a below average grade.

This week would be a good time for the Ravens start a cornerback who is a former Bengal in Chris Lewis-Harris. Lewis-Harris was claimed off of waivers by the Ravens earlier this month after being cut by the Bengals.

Lewis-Harris, 27, is a fifth year veteran from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was originally signed by the Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He has played in 29 games in his career (including three with Ravens) recording 10 tackles and one interception that occurred against the Miami Dolphins earlier this season.

In my opinion, the Ravens don’t really have anything to lose at this point in starting Lewis-Harris because it is hard to find a cornerback in the NFL who is not only playing worse than Wright at the moment, but is still able to be a starter on defense.

Lewis-Harris knows the Bengals personnel possibly better than anyone on the Ravens defense because he has been in Cincinnati’s locker room for the majority of his five seasons. Lewis-Harris can bring awareness to the Ravens secondary at a time where Wright cannot.