A day after placing veteran nose tackle Brandon Williams on the reserve-COVID-19 list, the Ravens deactivated another key member of their defensive line for Sunday’s meeting with Philadelphia.
Dealing with a neck injury and concussion believed to be sustained during Wednesday’s padded practice, defensive end Derek Wolfe was out for the second time in three weeks, leaving the Ravens thin on the defensive line against the Eagles. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale will need to lean more heavily on five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell as well as backup nose tackle Justin Ellis and rookies Justin Madubuike and Broderick Washington to pick up the slack and keep talented running back Miles Sanders and his 5.1 yards per carry average in check.
Rookie right guard Tyre Phillips is active and will make his return to action after sitting out the Cincinnati game with a shoulder injury. The duo of Patrick Mekari and Ben Powers split the snaps at right guard in Phillips’ absence.
Having not missed a game since the 2012 season, defensive back and special-teams captain Anthony Levine was deactivated after missing practices all week with an abdomen injury. The 33-year-old had appeared in 117 consecutive regular-season contests for Baltimore, but he’s dealt with the injury since last month.
Second-year wide receiver Miles Boykin was active and set to play despite popping up on Friday’s injury report and being listed as questionable with a thigh injury. Veteran wideout Chris Moore (finger/thigh) is missing his sixth straight game after head coach John Harbaugh said he had a chance to play this week.
There were no surprises among the Eagles inactives since Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson (ankle) headlined a list of seven players who were already ruled out for Week 6 on Friday. Tight end and Baltimore native Hakeem Butler was active and set to make his NFL debut with Philadelphia.
Longtime Ravens punter Sam Koch will be playing in his 230th regular-season game, a new franchise record. Including the postseason in that count, he’ll trail Hall of Fame middle linebacker Ray Lewis by one (248 to Lewis’ 249) entering the bye week.
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Sunday’s referee is Shawn Smith.
According to Weather.com, the forecast in Philadelphia called for partly cloudy skies and temperatures approaching the mid-60s. Winds will be five to 10 miles per hour with no rain in the forecast
The Ravens are wearing their white jerseys with black pants while Philadelphia dons green tops with white pants for Week 6.
Sunday marks the sixth all-time meeting between these teams with the series tied 2-2-1 and the Eagles holding a 2-0 advantage at Lincoln Financial Field. Baltimore is aiming for the third 5-1 start in team history, which would equal the 2000 and 2012 Ravens on their respective journeys to Super Bowl titles.
Below are Sunday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
DE Derek Wolfe
DB Anthony Levine
WR Chris Moore
QB Trace McSorley
OL Ben Bredeson
OL Trystan Colon-Castillo
PHILADELPHIA
RT Lane Johnson
WR DeSean Jackson
WR Alshon Jeffery
QB Nate Sudfeld
S Marcus Epps
CB Avonte Maddox
LB Duke Riley
