OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens had little time to sulk or wonder what could have been following Monday’s wild overtime defeat at Las Vegas.
That’s particularly true with the defending AFC champion Kansas City coming to down for Sunday Night Football. Baltimore must quickly regroup to avoid its first 0-2 start since 2015 against the team that’s “definitely had our number,” according to two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey. The Ravens have fallen to the Chiefs in each of the last three years, each loss a little worse than the previous one.
“The good thing about a short week is you don’t really have time to dwell on the negatives; you’ve got to move on with the positives,” Humphrey said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us, for this club to really go out there Sunday night and show that we belong on the field with them.”
Doing that will require immediate improvement on both sides of the ball, but Wednesday’s walk-through and injury report brought new concern for an offensive line that struggled to protect quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was pressured on more than half of his dropbacks against the Raiders. Struggling mightily in his regular-season return from last November’s serious ankle injury that required two surgeries, left tackle Ronnie Stanley was absent with what was listed as an ankle issue on Wednesday. The 27-year-old played every offensive snap in Monday’s 33-27 defeat and wasn’t listed on last week’s injury report, but John Harbaugh said he didn’t “have any updates right now on any of that” when asked about Stanley not being on the practice field.
The head coach was also asked whether he was concerned about the performance of right tackle Alejandro Villanueva, whom Pro Football Focus credited with surrendering two sacks, six hurries, and 10 pressures in his Ravens debut. Harbaugh didn’t want to get into any evaluation, but it clearly wasn’t what the 32-year-old or his new team had in mind after signing a two-year, $14 million contract that included $8 million guaranteed in early May.
“I’m not really into that kind of conversation,” Harbaugh said. “We come out, and we work to get better. He works his butt off to get better. He’s going to play very well for us.”
A better showing from Stanley and Villanueva will be a must to slow down Chiefs defensive ends Chris Jones and Frank Clark on Sunday night. Stanley showing some rust after limited preseason action wasn’t unexpected, but the 6-foot-6, 315-pound left tackle being credited by PFF for allowing seven hurries and seven pressures is well short of what the Ravens have come to expect from the 2019 Pro Bowl selection.
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Wide receiver Marquise Brown (ankle), cornerback Chris Westry (knee), and defensive end Derek Wolfe (back/hip) were also absent from Wednesday’s walk-through. Brown finished Monday’s game without any noticeable incident while Wolfe hasn’t practiced since Aug. 23 and appears in danger of missing a second straight game. Cornerback Jimmy Smith remained a limited practice participant after sitting out the season opener with the right ankle injury sustained early in training camp.
Asked if left guard Tyre Phillips had suffered a season-ending knee injury that led to him being moved to injured reserve Tuesday, Harbaugh said the second-year offensive lineman was on “short-term IR” without providing additional details. Ben Powers appears likely to start at left guard against the Chiefs, but rookie third-round pick Ben Cleveland could also be in the mix at the position after being a healthy scratch for Week 1.
On Wednesday, the Ravens promoted defensive back Anthony Levine and defensive tackle Justin Ellis from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and signed offensive tackle Andre Smith and cornerback Kevon Seymour to their practice squad. Baltimore still has two open spots on the 53-man roster and is expected to elevate at least one of Devonta Freeman and Le’Veon Bell for Sunday’s game after waiving reserve running back Trenton Cannon on Tuesday. Ty’Son Williams and Latavius Murray are currently the only tailbacks on the active roster.
“We have four good guys in here, and those guys are all going to be a big part of what we’re doing going forward,” Harbaugh said. “I’m excited about having those four guys. I think we were very, very blessed … that those guys were available when our guys got hurt.”
In contrast to the Ravens’ awful injury situation, the Chiefs had every member of their 53-man roster practicing Wednesday with two backups being the only limited participants. Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said earlier this week that he expects Clark and starting safety Tyrann Mathieu to play in Week 2 after both sat out the Chiefs’ season-opening win over Cleveland.
Below is Wednesday’s full injury report:
BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: WR Marquise Brown (ankle), OT Ronnie Stanley (ankle), CB Chris Westry (knee), DE Derek Wolfe (back/hip)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: OLB Daelin Hayes (knee), CB Marlon Humphrey (back), CB Jimmy Smith (ankle)
KANSAS CITY
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: OL Austin Blythe (abdomen), DT Khalen Saunders (glute)
FULL PARTICIPATION: DE Frank Clark (hamstring), DE Mike Danna (groin), RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle), WR Tyreek Hill (toe), DT Derrick Nnadi (hip)
