Ravens tight end Daniels out for Sunday's game in Cincinnati

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens will be without starting tight end Owen Daniels in Sunday’s AFC North matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Head coach John Harbaugh announced the 31-year-old underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee that will sideline him for at least Week 8, but the Ravens do not expect him to miss an extended period of time. Daniels is second on the team with 27 caches for 275 yards and three touchdowns while handling an expanded role since the season-ending hip injury suffered by Dennis Pitta in Week 3.
“As the week went on, his knee was not really progressing the way we wanted it to,” Harbaugh said. “We went ahead and did a cleanup procedure, and he’ll be out for this game. Then after that, he actually has a chance to come back [quickly]. It will kind of be week to week after that, and it won’t be many weeks at all. It could actually be next week. We’ll just have to see how that goes. That would be an optimistic approach, but it could happen.”
Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak had downplayed the severity of Daniels’ injury on Thursday while expressing little concern about his starting tight end missing practices this week, leading many to assume he’d be ready to play against the Bengals. The Ravens rested Daniels for an extended period during training camp, but his knowledge of Kubiak’s system going back to their days with the Houston Texans had diminished concerns over him not practicing.
Rookie Crockett Gillmore will start in Daniels’ place against the Bengals, but the Ravens will likely look to use running back Justin Forsett and full back Kyle Juszczyk more in the short passing game to compensate for the lack of depth at tight end.
“I’ve prepared to be the guy from the first day I was here, following Owen and Dennis around,” Gillmore said. “They’ve given me a great opportunity to step into their shoes and do what I can do.”
Defensive end Chris Canty missed practice again on Friday and will miss his fourth straight game since undergoing wrist surgery to correct an infection. However, Harbaugh said the veteran defensive lineman has been cleared to start training heavily and it’s just a matter of how quickly he can get back into game shape.
Starting left tackle Eugene Monroe and starting left guard Kelechi Osemele both practiced on Friday and were listed as probable as they’re expected to make their returns from injury against Cincinnati. Monroe has missed the last four games since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last month while Osemele missed two games due to a hyperextended knee suffered in the Week 5 loss to Indianapolis.
As expected, wide receiver Steve Smith and linebacker Daryl Smith both returned to practice Friday after receiving a veteran day off and were listed as probable.
The Bengals received disappointing news Friday as Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Green once again missed practice with his lingering turf toe injury. He was listed as doubtful and is expected to miss his third straight game on Sunday.
According to Weather.com, Sunday’s forecast in Cincinnati calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the high 60s with calm winds.
The referee for Sunday’s game will be Clete Blakeman.
Below is the final injury report:
BALTIMORE
OUT: DE Chris Canty (wrist), TE Owen Daniels (knee)
PROBABLE: T Eugene Monroe (knee), G Kelechi Osemele (knee), LB Daryl Smith (non-injury), WR Steve Smith (non-injury)
CINCINNATI
OUT: LB Rey Maualuga (hamstring)
DOUBTFUL: WR A.J. Green (toe)
QUESTIONABLE: DT Brandon Thompson (knee)
PROBABLE: RB Giovani Bernard (ribs), TE Kevin Brock (neck), LB Vontaze Burfict (neck), DE Robert Geathers (toe), DE Wallace Gilberry (eye), CB Leon Hall (back), LB Emmanuel Lamur (shoulder), T Marshall Newhouse (back), G/C Mike Pollak (knee), T Andre Smith (shoulder)