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The Ravens woke up Monday looking up at the rest of the AFC North. For the first time in a decade, they’re last in the division in October, behind even the Cleveland Browns, who secured their second win Sunday.

It’s a grim indictment of the 1-5 Ravens’ season, considering the sad state of the AFC North. But, without a clear contender atop the division — the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers lost Thursday to the Joe Flacco-led Cincinnati Bengals (3-4) — there’s a path to a turnaround.

Especially after a well-timed bye week. The Ravens are hoping to have quarterback Lamar Jackson and a few other injured starters back for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears. More moves could be on the horizon, too, as the NFL’s Nov. 4 trade deadline approaches.

Here’s a look at how the Ravens’ roster could change on offense, defense and special teams over the next two weeks.

QB Lamar Jackson: The Ravens’ running game, which has struggled to spring open running lanes without his gravitational pull, needs him back. The Ravens’ passing game, which has missed his out-of-structure playmaking, needs him back. The Ravens’ fan base, which hasn’t bothered to stick around M&T Bank Stadium during consecutive blowouts, needs him back. And the Ravens’ coaches, a target for criticism since the season opener, need him back — especially John Harbaugh, who said after the Week 6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams that “the hope” is to have him back from an injured hamstring after the bye. “If I was on the couch with a psychiatrist right now, if I was spilling it, I would have to say I’m leaning really hard into that, really hard,” Harbaugh said last Monday. “For any kind of psychological well-being, spiritual well-being, I’m leaning hard on that happening.”

ILB Roquan Smith: Smith, who was ramping up his conditioning work before the Ravens’ Week 6 loss, could return Sunday from the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 4. Safety Kyle Hamilton’s move to the slot helped stabilize the Ravens’ shaky defensive spine against the Rams, boosting hopes that he and Smith can restore the synergy they had there in 2023. Smith has struggled to get off blocks as a run defender and has been picked on in coverage, but coaches are optimistic about a return to form. Senior defensive assistant and secondary coach Chuck Pagano said Tuesday that Smith and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who’s also played erratically this year, “are self-aware, and they hold themselves accountable, so they can see it. They know what caused this issue, what caused this problem, and then they go to work on fixing it.”

FB Patrick Ricard: Ravens coaches have been cautious to warn that Ricard’s long-awaited return from a nagging calf injury won’t be a magic elixir for the offense. But, if the five-time Pro Bowl selection returns Sunday, as Harbaugh said he hopes he will, Ricard’s presence should at least boost the Ravens’ pass protection. Last season, according to Sports Info Solutions, the Ravens allowed a pressure rate of just 32.3% when he was on the field, compared with 42.2% when he was off the field. Much of those calmer pockets came on play-action drop-backs, a reflection of the respect opponents had for the Ravens’ running game in heavier personnel.

LT Ronnie Stanley: An ankle injury has limited Stanley to 39 snaps over the Ravens’ past three games. He left the Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs after 16 snaps and the Week 6 loss after 23, forcing the Ravens to turn to Joe Noteboom, who’s struggled in pass protection. Harbaugh said last Monday that Stanley’s ankle is “structurally good, or he wouldn’t be out there playing.” But the rest and recovery afforded by a bye week go only so far. Stanley sat out the Ravens’ Week 5 loss to the Houston Texans, participated fully in two practices before Week 6 and still limped off the field midway through the second quarter. “It becomes a matter of his ability to perform on it, and the only person that knows that is the player, so you’ve got to go by that,” Harbaugh said. “But he’s fighting to get out there and play.”

WR Devontez Walker: An oblique injury limited Walker to four total offensive snaps in Weeks 4 and 5 and sidelined him in Week 6. He’s played just 24 offensive snaps this season, recording three catches on three targets for 60 yards and two touchdowns, but the Ravens need his speed on special teams. Over the first three weeks, Walker was one of coordinator Chris Horton’s most active contributors, playing at least 60% of the unit’s snaps in each game, including regular work as a gunner on punt coverage.

OL Emery Jones Jr.: The Ravens have until Wednesday to add Jones to their 53-man roster, or else the third-round pick will spend the rest of his rookie season on injured reserve. A shoulder injury wiped out Jones’ offseason and training camp in Baltimore, and offensive line coach George Warhop said he hadn’t participated in pass-blocking drills until Tuesday. It could be a while, then, before Jones is ready to contribute. “It’s hard for a rookie to miss all of training camp, the beginning of the season, to come in in-season and truly get grounded in what we’re doing,” Warhop said Tuesday. “Even though you love everything about his upside, his toughness, how he’s going about it in practice, that’s a hard deal.”

ILB Trenton Simpson: With Smith inactive, Simpson got 94.3% of the defensive snaps in both Week 5 and Week 6 — his first games above 50.7% this season — and capitalized on the opportunity. He had 10 tackles and a sack against Houston and nine tackles and a pass defense against the Rams. Whether that was enough to take back a starting role next to Smith, or at least edge ahead of rookie Teddye Buchanan in the pecking order, is unclear. But Simpson can also step in situationally as an edge defender, and defensive coordinator Zach Orr said Tuesday that Simpson has “earned the right to definitely be part of the plan going forward. He’s a versatile player. … We used him in different ways, and I think that he’ll be able to continue to do that. He’s earned those reps."

CBs Chidobe Awuzie and Jaire Alexander: With the Ravens’ defense seemingly returning to three-safety looks, snaps at cornerback will be hard to come by. Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey, when healthy, are every-down players. Awuzie, who returned to practice from a hamstring injury last week, had been a regular starter through Week 4 — but Hamilton’s return to the slot in Week 6 pushed Humphrey back out wide for a majority of his snaps, where Awuzie primarily lines up. Alexander, meanwhile, was active against the Rams, operating as an insurance policy in case of injury, but didn’t play a snap. If Alexander’s not even in the mix for playing time in dime personnel (six defensive backs) after the bye, could he and the Ravens be headed for a mutual divorce? Plenty of contenders need cornerback help, and general manager Eric DeCosta would save at least $2 million if he’s off the roster by Week 10.

LG Andrew Vorhees and RG Daniel Faalele: The Ravens’ “tush push” failures in Week 6 could be the catalyst for a shake-up along the offensive line. After the loss to the Rams, Harbaugh described the Ravens’ front as having “big, physical guys” — but he acknowledged that the line “didn’t get any push” for tight end Mark Andrews. “You’ve got to get pad under pad, and you have to get push, and we didn’t do it,” Harbaugh said. Although Faalele has generally been more reliable than Vorhees in pass protection since 2024, his limitations as a run blocker are glaring. Vorhees, meanwhile, had a strong showing in Week 6. Warhop said Tuesday that both guards “get better every week,” but the bye offers a natural reset point if the Ravens want to give Ben Cleveland or Corey Bullock a shot at right guard.

A fourth outside linebacker: With Odafe Oweh traded to the Los Angeles Chargers and Tavius Robinson set to join Adisa Isaac on injured reserve, the Ravens have just three healthy outside linebackers on their 53-man roster: Kyle Van Noy, Mike Green and David Ojabo. Even with Simpson’s inside-outside versatility, that’s not enough. The Ravens will need to add help this week, ideally from outside the organization. They could also promote undrafted rookie Kaimon Rucker or Baltimore native Malik Hamm from the practice squad. “I wouldn’t mind giving those guys a shot — one of those guys, at least,” Harbaugh said last Monday. “So that’s our option No. 1, the most obvious option.”