Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers has “a chance” to play in the Ravens’ AFC divisional-round game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday despite missing the week of practice with a knee injury, coach John Harbaugh said Friday.
Flowers, the team’s leading receiver, was listed as doubtful on Friday’s injury report. He hasn’t practiced since injuring his right knee in the Ravens’ Week 18 win over the Cleveland Browns, though he took part in an on-field workout before Friday’s session.
Harbaugh said Monday that the Ravens were in “we’ll see mode” with Flowers, who has 74 catches for 1,059 yards and four touchdowns this season. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken said Thursday he was hoping Flowers would be available against Buffalo, but that “if not, we have a lot of really good players. We really do. We’re fortunate. We have a lot of really good players, and we anticipate them playing well.”
Quarterback Lamar Jackson, who went 13-for-18 for 156 yards and two touchdowns in the Ravens’ 35-10 win over the Bills in Week 4, said playing without Flowers would be “a huge challenge.” Flowers was held to just one catch for 10 yards in the win over Buffalo, as the Ravens relied on their dominant ground game.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
“He’s a guy that has been with us all season long, been making things happen for us,” Jackson said. “And just him being him, what he brings to the game, we’re going to miss that, but we have guys who are locked in and are ready to step up to the plate for us.”
The Ravens got help from various sources to make up for Flowers’ absence in a wild-card-round win Saturday over the Pittsburgh Steelers. They leaned on running back Derrick Henry and Jackson in the run game. Multiple receivers and tight ends stepped up in the passing game. Punt returner Steven Sims even ran an end-around.
Wide receiver-returner Deonte Harty (knee) is questionable for Sunday’s game after practicing fully all week. Harty, who hasn’t played since October, would need to be activated off injured reserve to play against Buffalo. The Ravens have cycled through punt returners since Harty’s early-season injury, but special teams coordinator Chris Horton said Thursday the team has to make sure Harty is “ready to go.”
“His body’s right; he’s in a good place,” Horton said. “I don’t have a problem with him fielding punts or anything like that. It’s a matter of, ‘OK, is he ready to go?’ You got to get him out here and get him running. He’s saying all the right things, he’s doing all the right things, and it’s good to see him out here. It honestly is good to see him starting to pick up the speeds and things like that.”
Only one Bills player, reserve running back Ray Davis, is questionable for Sunday’s game. Davis, a fourth-round pick, had 442 rushing yards and six total touchdowns during the regular season but remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol after leaving Sunday’s win over the Denver Broncos early.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
This story has been updated.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.