One of the Ravens' top cornerbacks will return to action for Sunday's regular-season finale in Cincinnati, but another will not.
Marcus Peters (calf) is active and will play his first game since he was injured Dec. 14 against the Cleveland Browns. However, veteran cornerback Jimmy Smith (ribs/shoulder) is inactive and will miss his third straight game.
In addition to Smith, the Ravens will also be without three key players who did not practice during the week – outside linebacker Yannick Ngakoue (thigh), wide receiver Willie Snead IV (ankle) and starting center Patrick Mekari (back).
Peters will join Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey and cornerback Anthony Averett as the primary defenders against the Bengals' dangerous wide receiver trio of Tyler Boyd, A.J. Green and Tee Higgins.
Ngakoue's absence will hurt a Baltimore pass rush that has produced 11 sacks over the past two weeks. Generating a consistent pass rush against hot Bengals quarterback Brandon Allen will be one of the keys to the game. Allen has led the Bengals to two straight victories and threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns last week against the Houston Texans.
Snead is third on the team in receptions (33), receiving yards (432) and touchdowns (three). His absence could lead to more targets for both Dez Bryant and rookie wide receiver Devin Duvernay. Rooke wide receiver James Proche II is inactive for the second consecutive game.
With Mekari out of the lineup, Skura will likely be the starting center, backed up by Trystan Colon-Castillo. Skura, who began the season as the starting center, took over for Mekari last week after his injury.
Veteran running back Mark Ingram II is active after being a healthy scratch the past two weeks. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards have been the primary running backs in recent weeks, but Edwards (back) was added to Friday's injury report although he is active.
Other inactives for Baltimore are defensive linemen Justin Ellis and Broderick Washington. Newly-acquired punter Johnny Townsend is active and will replace Sam Koch, who is on the Reserve COVID/19 list. Koch's absence ends his streak of 239 consecutive games played dating back to his 2006 rookie season, the third-longest active streak in the NFL.
For the Bengals, defensive tackle Mike Daniels and starting cornerback Mackensie Alexander are both out, and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported that Daniels had tested positive for COVID-19.
NFL Network's Tom Pellissero reported that Alexander was experiencing symptoms.
With William Jackson III (concussion) ruled out, the Bengals are without two of their top cornerbacks.
The Bengals' other inactives are backup linebacker Logan Wilson (ankle), backup center B. J. Finney, kicker Randy Bullock, offensive linemen Alex Redmond and Keaton Sutherland, and tight end Mitchell Wilcox.
