Marlon Humphrey ruled OUT vs. Texans; Mark Andrews’ status ‘still up in the air’ 

The team won’t have at least one of three-time Pro Bowlers for their divisional round matchup and could potentially be without both.

The Baltimore Ravens will be back in action for the first time in two weeks on Saturday when they take on the Houston Texans to kickoff division round weekend action at home. In a battle between division winners, the No. 1 seed Ravens will be without their top cornerback after ruling out three-time Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey on Thursday and still don’t know if they’ll have three-time Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews back although he is listed as questionable.

Humphrey missed practice all week with a calf injury that he suffered in the first half of the Ravens Week 17 win over the Miami Dolphins. On Wednesday, Andrews told reporters that he’ll play if he feels he can help the team.

“Knowing how good this team is, how good our players are, how good our tight ends are, if I feel like I’m going to be helpful to the team, I’m going to go,” Andrews said. “If I feel like I’m close but not there, I’m going to let these guys go and hopefully get there next weekend.”

On Thursday, Head Coach John Harbaugh said that Andrew’s status is “still up in the air” although he has been practicing since last week and was a full participant the past two days. The sixth-year veteran missed the final six games of the regular season while recovering from ankle surgery and would need to be activated to the 53-man roster in order to be eligible to play.

If he doesn’t play, the Ravens still have second-year pro Isaiah Likely who has emerged as a top 10 player at their position in his absence with 21 catches on 28 targets for 322 receiving yards in the team’s last six games.

Third-year wide receiver Tylan Wallace was the only other player ruled out on the final injury report. He has been handling punt return duties and splitting kick return duties with veteran running back Justice Hill but Harbaugh also shared that two-time Pro Bowl return specialist Devin Duvernay “looks good” will play. The fourth-year pro spent the final four games of the regular season on injured reserve with a back injury and returned to practice during the Ravens’ first-round bye week.

With Humphrey out, the Ravens will turn to third-year pro Brandon Stephens to fill the role of their top corner. The 2021 third-rounder blossomed into a lockdown corner in his break-out 2023 season despite being one of the most targeted. Humphrey has missed seven games this season due to injuries including the first four of the year and the 2021 third-rounder has stepped up and answered the call against some of the league’s best receivers in his career year while Darby has been solid whenever called upon.

Backup inside linebacker and special teams contributor Del’Shawn Philips is still listed as questionable to play despite having missed the entire week of practice with a shoulder injury. Third-year nickel corner Ar’Darius Washington is listed as questionable as well and is set to make his return from injured reserve after being out since going down with a pectoral injury in Week 2.

There were four players listed on the injury report who were removed Thursday and not given a game designation. The shortlist includes standout rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers (calf), inside linebacker Malik Harrison (groin), and outside linebackers Jadeveon Clowney (illness) and Odafe Oweh (ankle).

The Texans had several players listed on their injury report this week but only have three listed with game designations. They ruled out veteran defensive end Jerry Hughes who missed practice all week with an ankle injury, listed starting fullback Andrew Beck as questionable with a back that kept him out until Thursday, and starting right offensive tackle George Fant popped up with an illness on Thursday and is listed as questionable as well.