Ravens starting wide receiver Lee Evans rested his injured left ankle Wednesday and plans to return to practice today.
Evans’ ankle has been bothering him since the preseason and he appears to lack his usual explosiveness, catching only two passes for 45 yards.
“It is limiting,” Evans said. “I’m not 100 percent, so it does limit some of the things I can do. In the same breath, I’m able to do certain things effectively.
“I think you try to capitalize on that and try to protect it as much as you can, but it’s hard in a game. You’ve got to play the game, and you’re not always comfortable doing that.”
Evans acknowledged that sitting out Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams is a possibility even though that’s not his preference.
“We know that rest is one of the biggest things for it, which is why we try to approach the week the way we do,” Evans said. “We also want to be smart and not have the thing linger throughout the whole season. If we can get it to a point where we can rest it and still play on Sunday, and play effectively, then that’s the way to go.”
Evans said the injury is different from the one he sustained last year when he was with the Buffalo Bills.
"It wasn’t like one hit or one thing," Evans said. "It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what caused it or whatever. It’s different types of muscles involved, pain, everything. It’s completely different.
“They told me it couldn’t get worse, but the bottom line is to try and get better. That’s really where we’re trying to get to. But yeah, running on it or anything, it’s not where I can damage my femur or something by running on it.”
The Ravens have several injured players that coach John Harbaugh is concerned about in terms of whether their health is limiting their effectiveness.
That includes Evans and cornerback Domonique Foxworth.
“Sometimes as a coach, you have to say, ‘You know what? Let’s get this thing right, get you healthy so you can come back and play at your very best,” Harbaugh said. “And that’s where we are with some of those guys right now. They may step up this week because they’ve been getting rehab all along, and they may feel good and they may be able to go, but they may not. We’ll just have to see how they feel.”
Should Evans be sidelined Sunday, the Ravens would likely start a rookie. Second-round draft pick Torrey Smith would be the top candidate over Tandon Doss and undrafted rookie LaQuan Williams. None of the rookies have caught a pass in an NFL regular-season game.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in those guys,” Harbaugh said. “It’s always a question of how guys are going to transfer practice to the game, but they’ve been practicing well. They make plays out here, so we expect them to do it in games.”
Smith has played in both games while Doss has been inactive for both games primarily due to his lack of special-teams acumen.
“You always expect to be up,” Doss said. “Someone has to go in the third receiver spot and hopefully I get that job. I need to make plays when my name is called. It’s a little frustrating. Hopefully, my time comes soon.”
GRUBBS STILL HURT: Several other players didn’t practice Wednesday, including offensive guard Ben Grubbs.
Grubbs has an injured right toe and said he’ll be a game-time decision Sunday after missing the Ravens’ loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Grubbs said he bruised his toe and strained some ligaments.
“I did a lot to it,” Grubbs said. “Each day, I’m getting better. It’s not going as fast as I would like to go, but I am making improvements. Hopefully, I’ll be out there as soon as possible.
Grubbs said it’s not a long-term injury.
“I’m making progress,” Grubbs said. “It will probably be a game-time decision. You can’t push off. It’s as simple as that. If I can’t push off, then I can’t play.”
Grubbs had played in 65 consecutive games until being sidelined last Sunday.
“It was hard, I didn’t know how to take it,” Grubbs said. “There were a lot of emotions. It was hard to see my guys out there playing without me.”
With the swelling Grubbs has been dealing with, he’s now finally able to wear a normal shoe.
“I’m able to fit it inside of a shoe, so that’s good," Grubbs said. “I’m able to walk properly without favoring it, so that’s a big step for me. Hopefully, the next step will be running and pushing off, and hopefully I can do all that before Sunday."
Also not practicing: center Matt Birk (left knee), wide receiver David Reed (left shoulder), cornerback Jimmy Smith (left ankle), nose guard Terrence Cody (concussion) and defensive end Cory Redding (toe).
Birk had a sleeve on his left leg.
Smith is regarded as unlikely to return until after the bye week, if not longer. He’s off crutches, but is still limping noticeably.
Not practicing for St. Louis: running back Steven Jackson (strained left quadriceps), linebacker Ben Leber (groin), wide receiver Danny Amendola (dislocated left elbow), running back Cadillac Williams (hamstring) and defensive end C.J. Ah You (wrist).
Wide receiver Greg Salas (ribs) and tight end Michael Hoomanawanui (calf) were limited in practice.
NO SURGERY FOR REED: David Reed said he’s unlikely to have surgery on his injured left shoulder.
The wide receiver and kick returner’s left arm is in a sling after getting hurt covering a kickoff against the Titans.
"Nah, we’re trying not to go for surgery because that would mean that I would be out longer," Reed said today. "I’m trying to avoid that as much as possible. Hopefully, it will just settle down after a week. And I’ll be able to start strengthening it and everything."
Reed characterized the hit as over the line.
"I was on the kickoff team and he cheap-shotted me and took me out," Reed said. "It was after the whistle blew and everything."
Reed returned a kickoff 77 yards against the Titans before getting hurt.
The former fifth-round draft pick from Utah missed time during the preseason after undergoing offseason wrist surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist. Then, he served a one-game suspension to begin this season for violating the NFL substance-abuse policy.
“This is the most injuries I’ve ever had in my life,” Reed said “I was never an injury-prone guy. It’s very upsetting. I’ve just got to pray on it. And it’s part of the game. Hey, it’s a rough game. I’ve just got to keep playing.”
It’s worth noting that Reed is very undersized to be a wedge-buster, lining up as an L5 on the kickoff team next to kicker Billy Cundiff.
“I’m fast so I can get around the guys pretty easy," he said. "It is a tough position. I also got hurt playing that position last year. We’ll see.”
SOLVING OHER OFFSIDES PROBLEM: Offensive tackle Michael Oher is determined to solve his chronic habit of jumping offsides after committing eight false starts last season to lead the team.
The former first-round draft pick had a pair of false starts against the Titans, which Harbaugh characterized as illogical and emphasized that Oher doesn’t need to try to get off to such a quick start at the line of scrimmage.
“Just get it done, get it taken care of,” Oher said when asked what he’s doing to correct the issue. “That’s all it takes. I’m trying to do the best thing that’s going to help me team. Everything I do is to help my team. I got to get it fixed.”
RAVENS RE-SIGN SILVA: The Ravens brought back safety Mana Silva to the practice squad.
The undrafted free agent from Hawaii was cut from the practice squad when the Ravens signed former Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle to the eight-man practice squad.
The Ravens had an opening when cornerback Danny Gorrer was promoted to the active roster Saturday as inside linebacker Jason Phillips was released.
Silva tried out for the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos after being cut by the Ravens, but wasn’t signed.
"It feels good to be back," he said. "This is where I wanted to be all along. It’s always tough when you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
QUICK HITS: Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs joked that he might borrow a page from the New York Giants’ defensive playbook and fake an injury against the Rams. “That’s a great tactic, I may do it,” Suggs said. “If it works, it works. Don’t be surprised if you see 55 get a little hammy, I might break it out.” … Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan was fined $7,500 for unnecessary roughness for pouncing on Flacco after the quarterback recovered a fumble. Morgan plans to appeal the fine. “I couldn’t stop myself in the air,” Morgan told Tennessee reporters. “If I really wanted to take a dirty shot on him, I would’ve made it count. It wasn’t anything malicious. He’s not a quarterback when he is trying to get the ball.” … Rams quarterback Sam Bradford has recovered from a bruised finger. “No, it’s something of the past, really didn’t bother me at all on Monday night, and I really haven’t had any soreness from that game,” Bradford said during a conference call with Baltimore reporters. “So, I think that’s something that I’ve moved past now.”
