BALTIMORE - Ray Lewis will not play in Sunday's regular-season finale against the
Cincinnati Bengals but the Ravens kept alive his hope of returning for
the playoffs.
The Ravens activated the veteran linebacker from the injured reserve
with a designation to return list on Wednesday, a procedural move that
makes him eligible to play in the opening round of the playoffs next
week against either the Bengals or Indianapolis Colts.
To make room for Lewis, the Ravens placed wide receiver LaQuan Williams
(Poly, University of Maryland) on injured reserve. Williams has been on
the injury report with a thigh injury the past couple of weeks, but he
has played in the Ravens' last 11 games, mostly on special teams.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh reiterated that Lewis, who hasn't played
since tearing his right triceps muscle in the Ravens' Week 6 victory
over the Dallas Cowboys, wouldn't face the Bengals. However, several of
Lewis' teammates expressed hope that the 17-year linebacker will be
ready for the start of the playoffs.
"I have high hopes. I know that he's going to be out there," said Ravens
linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. "It's Ray Lewis. He's not going to sit
down. If he feels like he can go, he's going to go."
Lewis, 37, returned to practice on Dec. 5, meaning that in order to be
eligible for the playoffs, the Ravens had to add him to the active
roster by today. NFL rules stipulate that players on injured reserve
with a designation to return can practice for a period not exceeding 21
days before they have to be activated to the 53-man roster or put on
season-ending injured reserve.
Lewis was eligible to return to game action two weeks ago against the
Denver Broncos. However, the Ravens have decided to play it safe with
the veteran linebacker, who has some atrophy in his right arm after
having the surgery on Oct. 17. Lewis was a full participant in
Wednesday's practice.
"Knowing Ray Lewis, I'll just be honest: he could have played last week," said Ravens running back Ray Rice.
"That's just the Ray Lewis I know. His gut instinct told him to not
play but he also felt firmly that if we just get him to the playoffs,
that we were going to be OK. Obviously, that takes a lot, it wasn't
easy. He's our leader, he's our guy. But we did our job. Our job was to
get him to the playoffs [and] that's where we're at. Right now, we know
for a fact that some time in the playoffs, we'll have Ray Lewis."
Lewis has missed nine straight games and the Ravens are 5-4 during that stretch.
