The Ravens will likely be without top cornerback 
Smith missed the entire week of practice with a back injury and is officially listed as doubtful on the injury report. Head Coach John Harbaugh didn’t completely rule Smith out for the weekend, but the fact that he didn’t practice at all is not a good sign.
“If he gets healthy enough, he’ll play in the game even without the practice,” Harbaugh said. “If it clears up and he can go, he’ll play. If it doesn’t – if he can’t be close to 100 percent we’ll just have to wait until next week, but we’re confident in the guys we have as well.”
The back injury has limited Smith to just one practice the last two weeks. Back problems can be difficult to predict in terms of a recovery time, but Harbaugh expressed some optimism about Smith’s long-term status.
“I think [the medical staff] have a better handle on exactly what it is right now specifically. They have a good handle on it,” Harbaugh said. “It’s more muscular. That’s good news.”
The sixth-year cornerback is one of the most valuable players on Baltimore’s roster, and his absence was clearly felt in the loss to Dallas last week.
Playing without Smith is certainly a tough blow, but the good news is that the Ravens won’t have to worry about covering All-Pro receiver A.J. Green because the Bengals ruled him out with a hamstring injury.
Dumervil Could Return After Full Week Of Practice
Veteran outside linebacker
After missing the last five games because of a lingering foot problem, Dumervil was a full participant all week in practice and is officially listed as questionable to play.
“He looked good in practice,” Harbaugh said. “Again, it’s going to be up to the medical people to determine that. It’s always been a medical issue. It’s good to see him out there at practice taking a good number of reps – didn’t take every rep, but took a good number of reps in the rotation.”
The foot problem has bothered Dumervil going back to last season, and it’s limited him to just two games this season. Dumervil admits that he didn’t feel like himself in those games (Weeks 4-5), so he needed to take additional time to recover.
Dumervil and the Ravens hope that having the last six weeks to recover will make a big difference when he does get clearance to return for game action.
Taliaferro, Lewis Ruled Out, Gillmore Doubtful
The Ravens have ruled out offensive guard
Lewis’ absence comes as no surprise because he’s dealing with a high ankle sprain that is expected to sideline him until late in the season. With Taliaferro, the Ravens thought he would be able to practice earlier in the week but the injury lingered longer than expected.
Tight end
Gillmore’s injury could open the door for the Ravens to activate
“He came back in really good shape – very impressive shape,” Harbaugh said. “It looks like he’s been working really hard, but there is a process of knocking off the rust for sure. … As far as the game, we’ll just have to see. We have to talk it out and decide what we want to do.”
The Ravens could also decide to wait until next week to either move Boyle to the active roster or release him.
The only other players listed on Baltimore’s injury report were defensive tackle
Bengals Rule Out Green, Two Others Doubtful
In addition to ruling out Green, the Bengals have two others who are doubtful to play.
Starting safety Shawn Williams (hamstring) and reserve tight end C.J. Uzomah (calf) are both doubtful after missing the entire week of practice.
Linebacker Clark Harris (groin) and safety Derron Smith (thigh) are also both questionable to play.
