OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens will be without top cornerback Marlon Humphrey for Saturday’s divisional-round meeting with Houston, but they could welcome back another three-time Pro Bowl selection to start their playoff run.
After practicing fully for a second straight day, star tight end Mark Andrews was officially listed as questionable to play against the Texans and could make his return earlier than many anticipated when he began practicing last Friday. Baltimore would need to activate Andrews from injured reserve by 4 p.m. Friday for Saturday’s game, but head coach John Harbaugh said his status was “still up in the air” after the final full practice of the week. Though still moving with a limp at times during portions of practice open to media this past week, Andrews has run around well for someone who underwent left ankle surgery just two months ago.
“It’s been good to see. I know that,” said Harbaugh about Andrews’ level of on-field activity. “I don’t know if surprise is the right word. I probably didn’t have any expectations. We were just waiting to see when he was out there. This is his first week out there in that kind of way. It was encouraging.”
While Andrews could see action against Houston, Humphrey was unable to practice all week despite being spotted doing some running and agility work on a side field during bye-week workouts. It’s been a frustrating year on the injury front for Humphrey, who missed the start of the season after undergoing foot surgery in mid-August and sat out a career-high seven games. Humphrey hasn’t practiced since injuring his calf against Miami on Dec. 31.
Veteran cornerback Ronald Darby is expected to start and — along with fellow outside starter Brandon Stephens — will be tasked with trying to slow down Texans wide receiver Nico Collins, who caught 80 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns in a breakout campaign as rookie C.J. Stroud’s favorite target. Darby, 30, started seven games in the regular season after signing with Baltimore in mid-August.
“Consistent. His role has kind of evolved from week to week. He’s just played great football for us, so that’s probably the best compliment I can give you,” defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald said Wednesday. “But he’s always ready to go even if he’s not in the starting lineup, so wherever his role is, he’s been right there ready to rock. But we expect that from everybody.”
Though officially listed as questionable on the final injury report, two-time Pro Bowl return specialist Devin Duvernay is “going to play for sure” in Harbaugh’s words and will be activated from IR ahead of Saturday’s game. That’s good timing with backup punt returner and special-teams standout Tylan Wallace being ruled out with a knee injury suffered in practice last week. Backup linebacker and fellow special-teams contributor Del’Shawn Phillips was listed as questionable despite missing the entire practice week with a shoulder injury sustained in the Week 18 loss to Pittsburgh.
Having waived veteran Melvin Gordon on Wednesday, the Ravens officially promoted four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook from the practice squad to the 53-man roster as a third option with Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. It remains to be seen how involved Cook will be, but he’s eager to make his Ravens debut in the high stakes of a postseason game.
“Everything rises up, but for me, it was just digging deep into the playbook because I want to go out there and just play free,” said Cook, who averaged 3.2 yards per carry in a backup role with the New York Jets this season. “I want to just go out there and make plays and be me. With that, you have to be comfortable in what you do. That was big for me just getting that week off and digging deep into the playbook.”
Wide receiver Zay Flowers (calf) and outside linebackers Odafe Oweh (ankle) and Malik Harrison (groin) do not carry injury designations for Saturday, meaning they’re all ready to play after practicing fully by week’s end.
Despite a large number of Houston players missing practice time over the course of the week, reserve defensive end Jerry Hughes was the only one ruled out for the divisional round. The 35-year-old Hughes also missed last Saturday’s wild-card win over Cleveland after injuring his ankle in Week 18.
Texans right tackle George Fant (illness) and fullback Andrew Beck (back) were both designated as questionable for Saturday.
Below is the final injury report for the divisional round:
BALTIMORE
OUT: CB Marlon Humphrey (calf), WR Tylan Wallace (knee)
QUESTIONABLE: TE Mark Andrews (ankle), WR Devin Duvernay (back), ILB Del’Shawn Phillips (shoulder), DB Ar’Darius Washington (pectoral)
HOUSTON
OUT: DE Jerry Hughes (ankle)
QUESTIONABLE: FB Andrew Beck (back), OT George Fant (illness)
