Heavy underdogs.
It’s a position unfamiliar to the Ravens as they attempt to rebound from the first 1-5 start in franchise history in a Monday night trip to Arizona to take on the NFC West-leading Cardinals. Needless to say, John Harbaugh’s team will likely have to play its best game of the season to knock off Arizona, who owns the best point differential (plus-88) and the second-highest point total in the NFL.
As expected, starting cornerback Lardarius Webb (hamstring) is active after practicing on a limited basis all week and being listed as questionable on the final injury report. However, safety Kendrick Lewis (knee) was officially deactivated after suffering a knee injury in the Week 6 loss to San Francisco. Lewis’ absence opens the door for one of Brynden Trawick, Anthony Levine, or Kyle Arrington to start next to strong safety Will Hill in the back end of the secondary.
Defensive end Chris Canty (calf) is active for the first time since Week 2, but it remains to be seen how much he’ll play with Lawrence Guy filling in so effectively in his place.
The Ravens had already ruled out safety Terrence Brooks (thumb), tight end Maxx Williams (knee/ankle), and wide receiver Breshad Perriman (knee) over the weekend.
Prior to Monday night’s game, the Ravens promoted wide receiver Jeremy Butler from the practice squad and waived running back Terrence Magee before Butler was one of their seven inactives. With starter Justin Forsett no longer on the injury report with his ankle ailment, Baltimore didn’t have a need to carry a fourth running back on the 53-man roster.
The Cardinals received good news with speedy second-year wide receiver John Brown (hamstring) being activated against the Ravens.
Ron Tobert will be the referee for Monday night’s game.
The Ravens will be wearing white jerseys and black pants while Arizona dons its red tops with white pants.
The roof will be closed at University of Phoenix Stadium in the Ravens’ first time playing at the venue.
Monday marks the sixth all-time meeting between the Ravens and the Cardinals with Baltimore holding the 4-1 edge. Arizona is seeking its first win over Baltimore since Nov. 28, 1997, a game played at Memorial Stadium. Winners of four straight against the Cardinals, the Ravens are playing in Arizona for the first time since the 2003 season.
Below are Monday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
WR Breshad Perriman
WR Jeremy Butler
S Kendrick Lewis
S Terrence Brooks
OL Ryan Jensen
TE Maxx Williams
DT Kapron Lewis-Moore
ARIZONA
QB Matt Barkley
LB Alex Okafor
LB Shaq Riddick
OT D.J. Humphries
OT Earl Watford
TE Darren Fells
NT Xavier Williams
