Ravens News 10/29: Injury updates, roster evaluation and more

Bye Week Roster Evaluation—Defense 2019 - Ken McKusick

Veteran Cap/Value Concerns (2): Tony Jefferson, Jimmy Smith

Smith will be UFA at the end of this season. It’s difficult to construct circumstances where he’ll be back given the investment the Ravens already have in the secondary. His injury was costly to the Ravens both in terms of his 2019 play and the potential loss of a compensatory pick.

Tony Jefferson has been a fine player for 3 seasons with the Ravens, but enters the final year of his deal with a potential cap savings of $7 million. Given Clark’s play, the timing of his injury was not optimal.

News & Notes: John Harbaugh Remains Optimistic About Return of Injured Ravens - Clifton Brown

Head Coach John Harbaugh is optimistic that wide receiver Marquise Brown (ankle), inside linebacker Patrick Onwuasor (ankle) and cornerback Jimmy Smith (knee) will be on the practice field this week. Onwuasor and Brown have missed the last two games, while Smith hasn’t played since Week 1.

“They’re on track, we’ll see how it goes this week,” Harbaugh said. “I’m pretty confident that they’ll be there.”

“It’s exciting,” Harbaugh said. “We want to have guys who can cover; that’s important to us. We’ve got guys that can cover. Obviously adding Marcus is a big plus for us. Getting Jimmy back, it’s been a long time now. He played what seven, eight nine plays in the Miami game and he’s been out since. Had a really good training camp. If we can get him back, it’d be huge for us.”

In other injury news, Harbaugh also said that cornerback Tavon Young, who is out of the season with a neck injury, had successful surgery.

“I was told it went well,” Harbaugh said. “He’s on track.”

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Iman Marshall returns to practice - Aaron Kasinitz

Marshall, a fourth-round pick, missed time during the preseason and training camp with an undisclosed injury.

Baltimore designated him as one of two players available to return from IR this season, and Marshall can now practice throughout a 21-day window before the Ravens must either create a space for him on the roster or push him back to IR, ending his season. Marshall can play in a game as soon as Week 10, when Baltimore visits the Cincinnati Bengals.

Baltimore can chose one more player to activate off injured reserve as some point this season. Coach John Harbaugh mentioned earlier this year safety and special teams contributor Brynden Trawick, who suffered an arm injury in Week 2, was an option for that designation.

Three Bold Predictions for Second Half of Ravens’ Season - Todd Karpovich

The Ravens will finish 11-5. Baltimore has home games against the Patriots, Texans, 49ers, Jets and Steelers, The goal would be to at least win four of those games, which would take them to the nine wins. The road matchups come against the Bengals, Rams, Bills and Browns. The Ravens could favored in three of those games and two victories would increase the win total to 11, which could feasibly get them a second home playoff game.