BALTIMORE — The Ravens deemed left tackle Alejandro Villanueva good to go while deactivating safety DeShon Elliott for their Week 5 clash with Indianapolis on Monday night.
Listed as questionable on the final injury report, Villanueva missed most of the second half of last week’s win at Denver and sat out the first two practices of the week due to a left knee injury, but he practiced on Saturday and went through some early on-field work Monday evening without any issue before the inactive list was released 90 minutes before kickoff.
Though practicing on a limited basis all week, Elliott was deactivated for the second straight game, paving the way for rookie Brandon Stephens to again start at safety next to Chuck Clark. Stephens split time at safety with veteran defensive back Jimmy Smith in the 23-7 win over the Broncos in Week 4.
Baltimore also deactivated inside linebacker Josh Bynes and safety Geno Stone (thigh) as well as left tackle Ronnie Stanley (left ankle), who was already declared out over the weekend. Stanley has missed four straight games since laboring through the season-opening loss at Las Vegas.
Ravens fans anticipating the NFL debut of first-round wide receiver Rashod Bateman will have to wait another week.
While general manager Eric DeCosta activated third-year wide receiver Miles Boykin from injured reserve ahead of Monday’s 4 p.m. roster deadline, Bateman remained on injured reserve. Both players were designated to return to practice on Sept. 29, but the Ravens want to give Bateman ample time to ramp up his practice activity and build more on-field chemistry with quarterback Lamar Jackson after the rookie underwent groin surgery on Aug. 13. The 6-foot-1, 193-pound product out of Minnesota worked out on the field with pass game specialist Keith Williams roughly two hours prior to kickoff.
Though also more experienced playing in the Baltimore offense, Boykin received the Week 5 call largely because of his role on special teams.
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“He’s another guy that when he’s out there, he executes. He knows our system,” special teams coordinator Chris Horton said Friday morning. “He knows what we want, and he knows what we want to get done. He plays the way we want to play football from an execution standpoint [and] from a technique standpoint. Whenever we get him, we’ll be fired up to have him back.”
The Ravens elevated offensive tackle Andre Smith and safety Jordan Richards from the practice squad for Monday’s game. Smith was again serving as the reserve swing tackle behind Villanueva and right tackle Patrick Mekari while Richards was tabbed to fill an extensive role on special teams with Stone sidelined.
After making his season debut in Denver in Week 4, running back Le’Veon Bell wasn’t elevated from the practice squad as the Ravens instead elected to go with the trio of Latavius Murray, Devonta Freeman, and Ty’Son Williams. After starting the first three games of the season, Williams was a healthy scratch for the Denver game.
There were no surprises on the Indianapolis list of scratches after rookie defensive end Kwity Paye (hamstring), starting right tackle Braden Smith (foot/thumb), and starting cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (ankle) had already been ruled out on Saturday.
Below were Monday’s inactives:
BALTIMORE
S DeShon Elliott
S Geno Stone
ILB Josh Bynes
OT Ronnie Stanley
INDIANAPOLIS
DT Khalil Davis
QB Jacob Eason
DE Kwity Paye
DE Isaac Rochell
OT Braden Smith
RB Jordan Wilkins
CB Rock Ya-Sin
