OWINGS MILLS, Md. — With the Ravens readying for a challenging trip to Seattle to take on Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, the arrival of cornerback Marcus Peters headlined the conversation.
The two-time Pro Bowl cornerback didn’t arrive at the Ravens’ training facility in time to take part in Wednesday’s practice, but the deal sending inside linebacker Kenny Young and a 2020 fifth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for Peters was finalized, paving the way for his Thursday practice debut. Learning Baltimore’s complex defensive system in just a few days will pose a challenge, but head coach John Harbaugh expects Peters to play “as much as he can” against Seattle with the bye week to immediately follow.
“He’s one of the top corners in the league. He plays the way we play,” Harbaugh said. “When I say that, you know the coverages we play. You watch us every day, so he fits in really well that way and gives us another weapon back there so we can do the things we want to do defensively. That’s what I’m excited about.
“We don’t want to be hamstrung. We want to be able to play the way we want to play. He’s going to help us do that.”
Having lost slot cornerback Tavon Young for the season in August and outside cornerback Jimmy Smith for the last five games, the Ravens took a meaningful step to rebuild their depth at the position in hopes of being more flexible and dynamic in the secondary. Cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Carr played every snap in last Sunday’s win over Cincinnati, but defensive coordinator Wink Martindale had the luxury of rotating his top four corners last season to help keep players fresher and healthier, something the Ravens would like having the option of doing again.
How the secondary alignment shakes out remains to be seen, but it’s a good problem to have with six of the next seven games coming against teams .500 or better.
“Definitely excited anytime you can get a Pro Bowl corner,” said Humphrey about Peters. “Another thing I thought about was, ‘What can I learn from him?’ Twenty-four interceptions in four, five years, however many years. Whatever he’s doing, it’s working pretty well.”
The Peters trade wasn’t the only positive news for the secondary Wednesday as Smith returned to the practice field for the first time since injuring his right knee in the season opener against Miami. Wearing a thick brace, the 31-year-old went through individual drills during the portion of practice open to reporters.
Four players were absent for injury-related reasons as wide receiver Marquise Brown (ankle), inside linebacker Patrick Onwuasor (ankle), cornerback Maurice Canady (hamstring), and left tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee) all sat out. Brown and Onwuasor haven’t practiced since sustaining their right ankle injuries in the Week 5 win at Pittsburgh while Canady hurt his hamstring late in Sunday’s victory over Cincinnati.
Stanley hurt his knee in the second half of the Bengals win, but he didn’t miss any snaps until the final three plays in victory formation and was initially expected to practice on a limited basis Wednesday.
“Ronnie is going to be good. He did a good job of fighting through it in the game,” said Harbaugh prior to practice. “It was painful, but it was something that we expect him to be out there to some degree today. We’ll see how it goes, and [we] expect him to be ready to go on Sunday.”
Safety Earl Thomas, running back Mark Ingram, and Carr were each given a veteran day off from practice.
The Seahawks are dealing with their own injury concerns with left tackle Duane Brown (biceps) and right guard D.J. Fluker (hamstring) both missing Wednesday’s practice after sitting out their Week 6 win at Cleveland. Outside linebacker K.J. Wright (knee) and defensive end Ziggy Ansah (ankle) also sat out with ailments.
Seattle lost tight end Will Dissly to a torn Achilles tendon against the Browns.
Below is Wednesday’s full injury report:
BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: WR Marquise Brown (ankle), CB Maurice Canady (thigh), CB Brandon Carr (non-injury), RB Mark Ingram (non-injury), LB Patrick Onwuasor (ankle), OT Ronnie Stanley (knee), S Earl Thomas (non-injury)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: CB Jimmy Smith (knee)
SEATTLE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: TE Will Dissly (Achilles), OT Duane Brown (biceps), G D.J. Fluker (hamstring), S Lano Hill (elbow), S Bradley McDougald (back), LB K.J. Wright (knee), DE Ziggy Ansah (ankle)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: WR Tyler Lockett (non-injury), RB Chris Carson (non-injury)
