OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Healthy and rested, the Baltimore Ravens returned from their bye to begin preparation for Sunday night’s showdown against the unbeaten New England Patriots.
The Ravens (5-2) expect to have cornerback Jimmy Smith (knee), rookie receiver Marquise Brown (ankle) and linebacker Patrick Onwuasor (ankle) back.
“We’ll see how it goes this week. I’m pretty confident, but you never know,” Coach John Harbaugh said Monday.
Smith hasn’t played since leaving the season opener with a knee sprain against Miami. He will provide depth in a backfield that should be tested by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
“Getting Jimmy back, it’s been a long time now,” Harbaugh said. “He had a good training camp. If we can get him back, it would be huge for us. I’m excited about it. I hope it works out.”
Now in his ninth year, Smith hasn’t played a 16-game season since 2015. He will be a welcome addition to a defensive backfield that has lost Tony Jefferson, Tavon Young, DeShon Elliott to injury.
Looking to fortify a pass rush that has only 12 sacks, General Manager Eric DeCosta signed defensive end Ufomba Kamalu off the Patriots practice squad. The 6-foot-6, 300-pounder has 12 tackles and three sacks in 15 games over his career but has not played this season.
Still, Harbaugh is counting on Kamalu to make an immediate impact.
“Big, strong player,” the coach said. “He’s kind of trying to find his way right now, but we thought he was a good fit in our system – the way he plays with his hand, he squares. He’s a physical guy.”
JETS: C.J. Mosley won’t be back anytime soon.
The star linebacker will miss five to six more weeks as he continues to deal with a groin injury that has sidelined him for most of the season.
GIANTS: When the second half of the season opens with a players-only meeting, there is a problem.
Welcome to the New York Giants’ locker room.
Pat Shurmur’s team is riding a four-game losing streak after Sunday’s 31-26 setback in Detroit and the players met Monday to discuss ways to right things after a 2-6 start.
“We got to do some soul-searching inside our building as a team and just figure out what it is and be part of the solution and not the problem,” Saquon Barkley said after the game.
Neither Alec Ogletree nor rookie quarterback Daniel Jones would discuss what was said in the meeting.
“We’ve always been together,” Ogletree said Monday.
“It’s only us that go out there on the field and play together, so it’s just a matter of making sure everybody is still communicating, still on the same page, and trying to fix the problems.”
JETS-GIANTS TRADE: The Jets traded defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Giants for a third-round draft pick next year and a fifth-rounder in 2021, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.
Williams was the No. 6 overall pick of the Jets in 2015 and made the Pro Bowl in his second season, but never truly lived up to his lofty draft status.
PANTHERS: Coach Ron Rivera isn’t going to let the third-biggest loss in franchise history rush him into putting Cam Newton back on the field before he’s ready.
Rivera said Kyle Allen will remain the team’s starting QB this weekend when the Panthers host the Titans while Newton continues to rehab from a mid-foot sprain.
BROWNS-EAGLES TRADE: Cleveland agreed to trade linebacker Genard Avery to the Philadelphia Eagles for an undisclosed 2021 draft pick.
A fifth-round pick from Memphis in 2018, Avery played 16 games – starting five – for Cleveland last season and showed potential as an edge rusher.
However, he has been active for only two games this season and General Manager John Dorsey figured it was time to move the 6-foot, 250-pounder, who can also play defensive end.
DOLPHINS-CARDINALS TRADE: Arizona acquired Kenyan Drake from Miami for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2020, giving the Cardinals (3-4-1) a healthy backfield option heading into Thursday’s game against the undefeated 49ers (7-0).
TEXANS: Houston must deal with a season-ending injury to J.J. Watt for the third time in four years.
Watt sustained an injury to a pectoral muscle on Sunday in a win over the Oakland Raiders that will keep him out for the rest of the season.
BRONCOS: Quarterback Joe Flacco, who ripped Denver’s coaches for their play-calling in their last-minute loss at Indianapolis, won’t play next week because of a herniated disk in his neck.
VIKINGS: Jayron Kearse returned to Minnesota on following his weekend arrest on suspicion of driving while impaired and with a loaded gun and apologized to the team and fans.
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