News

The Ravens are a bit hobbled heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Bengals.

Baltimore will be without starters on both sides of the ball, and the team’s top draft pick won’t be ready yet to make his NFL debut.

Canty Ruled Out

The Ravens will have to overcome another injury to a veteran on the defensive front.

Starting defensive end Chris Canty has been ruled out of Sunday’s game with a calf injury after not practicing at all this week. Canty told reporters Wednesday he was optimistic about playing, but now the Ravens will have to go another direction.

Lawrence Guy is listed as Canty’s backup on the depth chart, and he could make his first start of the season. The Ravens could also turn to Kapron Lewis-Moore or Christo Bilukidi for some increased depth on the defensive line.

Having Canty out this week is a tough blow to a defense that has already lost outside linebacker Terrell Suggs for the season because of a torn Achilles. The Ravens also lost defensive end Brent Urban (torn biceps) in training camp. 

The Ravens will have to rely on their young defensive front to rebound from last week’s struggles in Oakland.

Perriman Returns To Practice, But Still Out

The Ravens had some good news on the practice field this week when rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman stepped out there for the first time since July. Perriman was a limited participant Thursday and Friday, but the Ravens have still officially ruled him out for this week’s matchup.

Head Coach John Harbaugh didn’t provide any specifics on when the rookie will make his game debut.

“It looks like he’s getting close, but what that means exactly, I don’t know,” Harbaugh said. “Nobody tells me [when he will play]. I have no report on it. I have no information on it, because our medical people just don’t know. When they tell me he can play, he’ll be out there playing. That’s just the truth. That’s the way it is. It’s a tough injury to judge.”

During the portions of practice open to the media this week, Perriman went through individual drills and jogged a series of routes to catch passes from the quarterbacks.

Monroe Ruled Out Again

The Ravens will have James Hurst at left tackle again on Sunday. 

Starter Eugene Monroe has been ruled out after missing his second week of practice with a concussion. Monroe suffered the concussion on the opening series of the Week 1 loss to Denver. He remains in the concussion protocol and Harbaugh had no update on his status.

Hurst has plenty of starting experience in his young career, and has essentially become Baltimore’s starting left tackle since the end of last year. He started the final three games of last season (including the playoffs) and has played all but the first series this year.

“I like to think that you kind of get in a groove playing, going out there week to week, and knowing that you’re going to be starting,” Hurst said. “You get that feeling of confidence and getting comfortable out there.

Taliaferro, Walker Both Questionable

Backup running back Lorenzo Taliaferro (foot) and reserve cornerback Tray Walker (thigh) are both questionable to suit up against Cincinnati.

Taliaferro missed the first two days of practice before returning Friday as a limited participant. Walker was limited both Thursday and Friday.

If Taliaferro is unable to play, then rookie Buck Allen will get the carries as the No. 2 back behind Justin Forsett. The Ravens could also look to bring rookie Terrence Magee up from the practice squad, which they did in Week 1 when Taliaferro was sidelined with a knee injury.

Hill, Mosley Probable

Starting safety Will Hill was surprisingly absent from Friday’s practice, but he doesn’t seem to have a serious injury. Hill was listed as probable on the injury report despite missing the day with a knee issue.

Starting inside linebacker C.J. Mosley also missed practice Thursday, but that was non-injury related.

Both Mosley and Hill are probable to start versus the Bengals. 

Bengals Entering Healthy

The Ravens had a bit of a scare earlier in the week when wide receiver A.J. Green missed practice with a knee injury. That issue doesn’t appear to be anything serious as Green is probable on Cincinnati’s injury report.

The Bengals are coming into the weekend healthy. Starting offensive tackles Andrew Whitworth (back) and Andre Smith (buttocks), safety Reggie Nelson (groin) and defensive end Wallace Gilberry (thigh) are all probable.

Defensive tackle Marcus Hardison (knee) is doubtful and defensive tackle Pat Sims (hip) is out.