After weeks of conflicting reports and sources offering different takes, the Ravens will welcome 2011 Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs back to action as they take on the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.
Considered a game-time decision after he was placed on the 53-man roster Saturday, Suggs went through pre-game workouts and coach John Harbaugh and the Ravens were satisfied with what they saw, meaning the 30-year-old will make his return in just under six months after suffering a partially-torn Achilles tendon in late April. It’s regarded as one of the quickest recoveries ever seen from such a devastating injury to an NFL player.
Suggs is expected to be limited in his level of participation Sunday as the coaching staff wants to see how he responds to contact and going full-speed after only three days of work on the practice field this week.
Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and cornerback Jimmy Smith are active and will start after being limited in practice and being listed as questionable in the final injury report of the week on Friday. However, starting nose tackle Ma’ake Kemoeatu is inactive and will be replaced by Terrence Cody in the starting lineup. He’s been dealing with a knee injury despite declaring himself full-go on Friday following practice.
With Kemoeatu out and Ngata dealing with a sprained MCL, the Ravens have decided to activate Bryan Hall and rookie DeAngelo Tyson for the first time this season to give them extra depth along the defensive line.
For the Texans, top cornerback Johnathan Joseph is active and will start after missing two days of practice this week with a groin injury. The Ravens will definitely want to test Joseph early to see how well the groin holds up.
The 5-1 Ravens will greatly benefit from the five-time Pro Bowl linebacker’s return as they take on the 5-1 Texans in a battle between the only teams in the AFC currently holding a winning record. Baltimore owns a 5-0 all-time record in the regular season against Houston and the Ravens also earned the victory in their only postseason meeting against the Texans last January in the divisional round.
The roof will be closed at Reliant Stadium as the Texans wear their alternate red jerseys. The Ravens will go with their white jerseys and white pants Sunday afternoon.
Here are Sunday’s inactives …
BALTIMORE
CB Asa Jackson
TE Billy Bajema
OL Jah Reid
OL Ramon Harewood
NT Ma’ake Kemoeatu
WR Deonte Thompson
RB Bobby Rainey
HOUSTON
CB Roc Carmichael
SS Quintin Demps
OT Andrew Gardner
G Cody White
DE David Hunter
G Brandon Brooks
LB Barrett Ruud
