CINCINNATI — The Ravens look to begin a season 2-0 for the third straight year as they meet Cincinnati on Thursday Night Football.
There were no surprises on their inactives list after cornerback Maurice Canady (thigh), tight end Hayden Hurst (foot), and defensive tackle Willie Henry (hernia surgery) were already ruled out on Wednesday. For the second straight week, reserve quarterback Robert Griffin III is a healthy scratch, meaning rookie Lamar Jackson will be Joe Flacco’s only backup against the Bengals.
Rookie wide receiver and return specialist Janarion Grant is active and will play despite being listed as questionable to play with a hand injury. His ability to catch the ball will be something to monitor, especially early in the game.
A pair of rookie free agents will make their NFL debuts as cornerback Darious Williams and just-promoted running back De’Lance Turner are active. Williams is likely to serve in a special-teams capacity while Turner is now the No. 3 running back with Kenneth Dixon going on injured reserve on Wednesday.
The Bengals will be without starting middle linebacker Preston Brown, who is out with an ankle injury. Cincinnati is already dealing with the suspension of starting linebacker Vontaze Burfict, leaving its defensive vulnerable at the second level.
Thursday’s referee is Walt Anderson.
The Ravens have broken out a new uniform combination in prime time as they’ll wear purple pants with white jerseys for the first time in team history. These pants have a white and black side stripe and are similar to those introduced two years ago as part of the all-purple “Color Rush” uniforms. Cincinnati will wear black jerseys with white pants.
Thursday marks the 45th meeting in the all-time regular-season series with each team owning 22 wins and the Bengals having a 14-8 record in their home stadium. The Ravens have lost five of the last six played at Paul Brown Stadium, but they broke a five-game losing streak in Cincinnati last year with a 20-0 win in Week 1.
Below are Thursday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
QB Robert Griffin III
WR Jordan Lasley
CB Maurice Canady
DT Willie Henry
OL Jermaine Eluemunor
TE Hayden Hurst
DT Zach Sieler
CINCINNATI
WR Cody Core
WR Auden Tate
RB Mark Walton
LB Preston Brown
G Christian Westerman
OT Cedric Ogbuehi
DT Josh Tupou
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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