OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens are as healthy as they could reasonably hope to be a quarter of the way through the 2024 season as AFC North play begins with a trip to rival Cincinnati.
Every member of the active roster practiced fully Friday, and slot cornerback Arthur Maulet was the only Baltimore player missing from the field. Designated to return from injured reserve this week after recovering from August knee surgery, Maulet hurt his hamstring during Wednesday’s practice and will not be activated for Sunday’s contest.
“He had a soft-tissue setback,” Harbaugh said. “He won’t make it to this game this week, but he’ll be day-to-day probably going forward next week. We’ll just have to see.”
Fortunately, the Ravens are in a good place in the secondary with no shortage of nickel options including Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Hamilton, and Ar’Darius Washington.
The Ravens’ biggest injury-related question for Week 5 will be who lines up at left guard after Andrew Vorhees missed the Week 4 win over Buffalo with an ankle injury. That prompted veteran Patrick Mekari to move inside and rookie Roger Rosengarten to make his first career start at right tackle as Derrick Henry ran for a season-high 199 yards in the 35-10 blowout win over the Bills.
After back-to-back days of limited participation, Vorhees practiced fully Friday, but his left ankle remained heavily taped throughout the week. Meanwhile, Mekari continued to draw praise for his versatility after making a start at his fifth different offensive line position over a six-year career.
“He’s practiced a lot at all the positions over the years, and that’s his kind of superpower,” Harbaugh said earlier this week. “That’s his trait that he can do so many different things so well. As we go forward, we’ll see how Andrew’s ankle is and all that, but Patrick can continue to do it, and he’s only going to get better if he gets more reps there.”
The Ravens listed running back Rasheen Ali (neck) as questionable after the rookie was designated to return to practice from IR on Thursday. Baltimore has until 4 p.m. Saturday to potentially activate Ali or elevate practice-squad member Chris Collier as the No. 3 running back for a third straight week.
It remains to be seen whether the Ravens — who currently have an open spot on their 53-man roster — will activate veteran edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, who has now completed two weeks of practice. For what it’s worth, Harbaugh expressed confidence that the 29-year-old would be ready to play if called upon for Week 5.
The Bengals are expected to be without starting defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (hamstring) for a third straight week as the 30-year-old was officially designated as doubtful. However, Cincinnati is getting healthier on the defensive line as defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson and defensive end Myles Murphy were both activated from injured reserve on Friday.
Slot cornerback Mike Hilton (knee) missed practice for a third straight day and is officially questionable to suit up against the Ravens.
Below is the final injury report for Week 5:
BALTIMORE
OUT: CB Arthur Maulet (knee/hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE: RB Rasheen Ali (neck), WR/RS Deonte Harty (knee), G Andrew Vorhees (ankle)
CINCINNATI
DOUBTFUL: DT Sheldon Rankins (hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE: CB Mike Hilton (knee), DT McKinnley Jackson (knee), DE Myles Murphy (knee)
