OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The cornerback position remained in flux on Sunday afternoon as the Ravens practiced without Lardarius Webb for the second straight day and Chykie Brown was also sidelined.
Webb has been dealing with minor back spasms since Friday while Brown sat out with a tweaked hamstring, according to head coach John Harbaugh. Both players walked out to the field to observe practice, a typical sign of neither injury being serious. With Webb and Brown both sidelined, third-year cornerback Asa Jackson took the first-team reps opposite Jimmy Smith in the secondary.
The Ravens added a cornerback to the practice equation as veteran Dominique Franks finally passed his conditioning test and was activated from the non-football injury list on Sunday. Signed after last month’s mandatory minicamp, Franks was tested early and often working on the second-string defense and held up reasonably well.
“He didn’t jump out in a negative way, so that’s positive for a corner,” Harbaugh said following practice. “And we’re happy to get him out there, because we needed the legs out there, and he’s a talented guy. It should be fun to watch him on tape tonight.”
Harbaugh said that offensive lineman Will Rackley has “a little ding,” which is code for concussion-related symptoms in the head coach’s words. The Ravens will proceed with caution until the former Jacksonville Jaguars lineman is cleared.
A number of key players were given Sunday off as wide receivers Steve Smith and Torrey Smith, linebacker Daryl Smith, defensive end Chris Canty, and tight end Owen Daniels did not practice but watched from the sideline. Harbaugh has regularly given veteran players days off over the course of training camp but has steered away from a set “30-and-over club” over the last two summers after implementing that during his first several seasons in Baltimore.
“We had some veteran guys sit down today; that was by my design,” Harbaugh said. “I pulled those guys back [and] felt like they would benefit from it.”
Running back Bernard Pierce was a full participant on Sunday after leaving the field early due to being sick during Saturday’s practice.
Defensive tackle Terrence Cody (active physically unable to perform list – hip surgery) and offensive lineman Parker Graham were once again absent on Sunday.
