Despite being labeled earlier in the week as having a “50-50” chance to return for Saturday’s wild-card game against Pittsburgh, Ravens left tackle Eugene Monroe was officially ruled out against the Steelers.
Monroe hasn’t practiced since injuring his ankle in the Week 16 loss at Houston on Dec. 21 and will once again be replaced by rookie free agent James Hurst at the left tackle position. With starting right tackle Rick Wagner already on injured reserve, the Ravens will once again slide Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda out to right tackle with rookie John Urschel playing right guard.
Head coach John Harbaugh expressed optimism at the beginning of the week that Monroe might be able to return for the first round of the playoffs, but he has been in a walking boot since suffering the ankle injury in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Though some have downplayed the loss of Monroe after an injury-plagued season in which he struggled, Hurst has struggled immensely in pass protection and earned a cumulative minus-16.9 grade in pass blocking from Pro Football Focus compared to Monroe’s minus-1.0. Hurst has started five games in Monroe’s place this season.
The Ravens also officially ruled out defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan (foot) and inside linebacker Arthur Brown (hamstring). The latter was placed on season-ending IR to make room for defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who was officially activated from the reserve-suspended list on Friday afternoon after serving a four-game ban in December.
That transaction brings the total count of Ravens players on IR to 19, matching a high in the Harbaugh era set in 2008.
Veteran defensive end Chris Canty (ankle/thigh) was designated as probable to play on Saturday after participating fully in practices this week. The 32-year-old missed the Ravens’ regular-season finale against Cleveland last week.
Meanwhile, the Steelers officially ruled out Pro Bowl running back Le’Veon Bell after he suffered a hyperextended knee against Cincinnati last week. Even though a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed no structural damage to his knee, Bell’s status had been in doubt all week as he didn’t take part in any practices.
Nine other Steelers players were listed as probable for Saturday’s game, including nose tackle Steve McLendon (shoulder), rush specialist James Harris (illness), cornerback Ike Taylor (shoulder/forearm), and safety Troy Polamalu (knee).
Below is the final injury report of the week:
BALTIMORE
OUT: LB Arthur Brown (thigh), DT Timmy Jernigan (foot/ankle), T Eugene Monroe (ankle)
PROBABLE: DE Chris Canty (thigh/ankle), TE Owen Daniels (non-injury)
PITTSBURGH
OUT: RB Le’Veon Bell (knee)
PROBABLE: T Mike Adams (illness), LB James Harrison (illness), QB Landry Jones (illness), DT Steve McLendon (shoulder), TE Heath Miller (non-injury), TE Michael Palmer (groin), S Troy Polamalu (knee), QB Ben Roethlisberger (non-injury), CB Ike Taylor (shoulder/forearm)
