The Ravens will attempt to go 2-1 in finishing their AFC North run to begin the season against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, but they’ll have to do it without a key cog in their offense.
Running back Bernard Pierce (thigh) was ruled inactive and will miss the first game of his NFL career. The third-year back was added to the injury report as a limited participant on Thursday before participating fully and being listed as questionable on Friday.
The Ravens promoted rookie running back Fitz Toussaint from the practice squad and cut wide receiver Deonte Thompson on Saturday, a clear indication that Pierce’s status was in doubt. Veteran Justin Forsett is expected to start in Pierce’s place, and he will be spelled by two rookies — fourth-round pick Lorenzo Taliaferro and the undrafted free agent Toussaint — who have yet to record a carry in the NFL.
The good news is that cornerback Lardarius Webb will make his long-awaited 2014 season debut after missing the entire preseason and the first two regular-season games while recovering from a back injury suffered on July 25. The sixth-year defensive back practiced fully over the last three weeks, but the Ravens wanted to be careful that his back did not flare up again.
As expected, defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan is inactive as he continues to recover from a knee injury. He was listed as doubtful on the final injury report of the week. This means the Ravens could lean on recently-claimed defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi to play some reps in the rotation as he is active for Sunday’s game.
Rookie third-round safety Terrence Brooks is inactive for the first time this year and 2013 second-round linebacker Arthur Brown is a healthy scratch for the third straight week, developments that aren’t exactly ringing endorsements for the last two draft classes.
Meanwhile, the Browns will have the services of tight end Jordan Cameron (shoulder) and linebacker Barkevious Mingo (shoulder), who are both active after being listed as questionable on the final injury report. Cleveland’s starting running back Ben Tate (knee) is out once again, paving the way for Towson product Terrance West to make another start.
The Ravens will be wearing purple jerseys with white pants while the Browns don white jerseys and white pants at home.
According to Weather.com, the forecast in Cleveland calls for temperatures right around 70 degrees with winds up to 18 miles per hour and partly cloudy skies.
The Ravens are 22-8 in the all-time series against the Browns, which includes a 10-5 mark in Cleveland. Under head coach John Harbaugh, Baltimore is 11-1 against the Browns but lost the most recent meeting between these teams at FirstEnergy Stadium last November.
Here are Sunday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
RB Bernard Pierce
WR Michael Campanaro
OT Jah Reid
G John Urschel
DT Timmy Jernigan
LB Arthur Brown
S Terrence Brooks
CLEVELAND
WR LaRon Byrd
CB Pierre Desir
NT Ishmaa’ily Kitchen
LB Eric Martin
DB Robert Nelson
TE Gerell Robinson
RB Ben Tate
