Ravens-Raiders: Inactives and pre-game notes

The Ravens face a challenge in replacing the injured Terrell Suggs, but the man signed to take his spot on the 53-man roster this week was deactivated for Sunday’s meeting with the Oakland Raiders.
After head coach John Harbaugh deemed him ready to play on Friday, veteran outside linebacker Jason Babin was surprisingly among the Ravens’ seven inactives for Week 2. The 35-year-old was signed to a contract on Tuesday and practiced all week with his new team.
“His whole thing is just making sure he knows where to line up,” Harbaugh said after Friday’s workout. “He has been in defenses [and is] a really smart guy. I’m very confident that he can line up and play good football. He played [during the preseason]. It’s not like he’s a guy that hasn’t been playing in training camp. He has been playing up until a week ago, so he’s in football shape, and he’s ready to go.”
The decision to deactivate Babin meant rookie Za’Darius Smith was expected to fill a significant role as Baltimore’s backup outside linebacker behind Elvis Dumervil and Courtney Upshaw. Smith, a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, was a healthy inactive last week.
The Ravens also deactivated Rashaan Melvin (thigh) despite the third-year cornerback practicing on a limited basis all week. Rookie wide receiver Darren Waller (ankle) was active despite being added to the injury report on Friday.
As expected, defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan (knee) and No. 2 running back Lorenzo Taliaferro (knee) were active after practicing fully all week. Jernigan was expected to return to his starting spot along the Baltimore defensive line with rookie Carl Davis returning to a reserve role.
With starting left tackle Eugene Monroe (concussion) inactive, the Ravens included reserve offensive lineman Ryan Jensen among their 46 active players on game day. Second-year tackle James Hurst was expected to start in Monroe’s place.
Rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman (knee) was officially ruled out for Week 2 on Friday, but he reportedly increased his activity level in a pre-game workout by doing some light running. The first-round pick hasn’t practiced since spraining his knee on July 30.
For the Raiders, veteran safety Charles Woodson was active despite suffering a dislocated shoulder in Oakland’s season opener. He practiced on a limited basis Thursday and Friday.
These teams are meeting for the eighth time in the regular season with the Ravens holding a 6-1 advantage in the series. Baltimore is 1-1 playing in Oakland, but that does not include the Ravens’ win in the 2000 AFC championship game. The Raiders’ lone win against the Ravens came in the 2003 season while Baltimore has won four straight in the series.
The forecast for Sunday afternoon’s game in Oakland calls for sunny skies, temperatures in the high 80s, and winds up to 10 miles per hour, according to Weather.com.
Referee Pete Morelli and his crew will officiate Sunday’s game at O.co Coliseum.
The Ravens will be wearing white jerseys with black pants while Oakland will sport its black home tops with silver pants.
Here are Sunday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
LB Jason Babin
CB Rashaan Melvin
RB Terrence Magee
OT Eugene Monroe
DT Christo Bilukidi
DE Kapron Lewis-Moore
WR Breshad perriman
OAKLAND
CB Dexter McDonald
FB Jamize Olawale
OL Jon Feliciano
OL Matt McCants
DT Justin Ellis
WR Rod Streater
DE Benson Mayowa