Ravens cornerback Chidobe Awuzie returned to practice Friday, giving hope that he could play in Sunday's critical Week 16 game against the New England Patriots.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said Awuzie looked OK, but was limited in practice.
"I think Chido is going to be iffy," Harbaugh said. "We'll have to see how it goes up and until the game."
Awuzie, who injured his foot in Cincinnati last week, has been one of the Ravens' most effective defensive players this season. He has the fifth-highest Pro Football Focus grade among all NFL cornerbacks who have taken at least half their team's defensive snaps.
The Ravens are pretty healthy going into the game. The only players not practicing Friday are defensive lineman John Jenkins, who is sidelined with an illness, and rookie linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Cincinnati.
Trenton Simpson is slated to step into Buchanan's starting role and has the confidence of his coaches and teammate Roquan Smith.
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee/ankle), center Tyler Linderbaum (knee), and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (quad) were all limited in practice Thursday but back on the field again Friday.
Patriots Rule Out Leading Tackler
The Patriots have ruled out linebacker Robert Spillane, who leads the team with 97 tackles. He hasn't practiced all week due to an ankle injury.
Spillane, who spent four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, also has two interceptions and one sack this season and it's a hit to the middle of New England's defense.
"He's a really good player, a really underrated player probably," Harbaugh said. "He's one of those guys that people want to make assumptions about, then all he does is go out there and make every single tackle – that's kind of who he is. So, it's a factor, but they have a lot of good players on defense."
Four other key Patriots defenders are all questionable: cornerback Marcus Jones (knee), who leads the Patriots with three interceptions, outside linebacker Harold Landry III (knee), who leads them with 8.5 sacks, fellow starting cornerback Carlton Davis III, and defensive tackle Christian Barmore.
