Za'Darius Smith returns to practice as Ravens set sights on London

LONDON — On the eve of their departure for London, the Ravens welcomed back a member of their pass rush as Za’Darius Smith was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.
The third-year outside linebacker missed the Week 2 victory over Cleveland after injuring his knee and ankle in the first half of the season opener. It now appears he’ll return for Sunday’s game against rookie running back Leonard Fournette and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.
Smith’s return was overshadowed by the absences of five other players, a list headlined by star defensive tackle Brandon Williams as he continues to recover from a foot injury. Head coach John Harbaugh said Monday that Williams is not dealing with a “long-term” injury, but it remains unclear when he will return to action.
Baltimore’s depth in the trenches does ease concerns over Williams’ absence as three defensive linemen — Bronson Kaufusi, Willie Henry, and Chris Wormley — have been healthy scratches for the first two games of the 2017 season. With Williams missing the second half of the Browns game, third-year defensive tackle Carl Davis saw 13 snaps in the 24-10 win.
“Those guys want to play, and they are fighting like crazy in practice,” Harbaugh said. “It makes our practices better. We have young players that need to get better, and when they get their chance, they need to play well. Carl stepped up and played well last game. We’ll see what happens.”
Running back Terrance West (calf), wide receiver Michael Campanaro (ankle), tight end Maxx Williams (ankle), and cornerback Jaylen Hill (thigh) were also listed as non-participants in Wednesday’s practice. West received only two carries in the second half of the Cleveland game, leading to more opportunities for backup Buck Allen and the recently-promoted Alex Collins.
Offensive linemen Matt Skura and Dieugot Joseph both took part in practice after being added to the 53-man roster Tuesday to take the places of six-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda (ankle) and rookie linebacker Bam Bradley (knee), who were both placed on injured reserve. Skura started all four preseason games for the Ravens before being waived at the end of the summer and signed to the practice squad while Joseph had been a member of Chicago’s developmental squad.
The Ravens were scheduled to fly to London following Thursday afternoon’s practice. Harbaugh said the organization is basically following what other teams have done in their trips across the Atlantic Ocean in recent years. The biggest challenge will be adjusting to the five-hour time change just two days ahead of their meeting with the Jaguars, a team the Ravens are facing for the fourth consecutive season.
Jacksonville is also playing a game at Wembley Stadium for the fifth consecutive season.
“I do not know if any teams lately have gone over the whole week [based on] our research that [team president] Dick Cass did,” Harbaugh said. “Dick really spearheaded this for us. He was out in front of this and did the homework on it and came up with the basic format for what we are doing and did a great job with it.”
Below is Wednesday’s full injury report:
BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: WR Michael Campanaro (ankle), CB Jaylen Hill (thigh), RB Terrance West (calf), DT Brandon Williams (foot), TE Maxx Williams (ankle)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: DB Anthony Levine (chest)
FULL PARTICIPATION: LB Za’Darius Smith (knee/ankle)
JACKSONVILLE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: S Tashaun Gipson (ankle), LB Lerentee McCray (knee), C Brandon Linder (knee)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION: WR Jaelen Strong (hamstring), CB Jalen Ramsey (ankle), DT Malik Jackson (groin)
FULL PARTICIPATION: QB Blake Bortles (right wrist), WR Allen Hurns (shoulder)