The Baltimore Ravens made several moves ahead of their Week 18 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They placed defensive back Daryl Worley on injured reserve with shoulder and ankle injuries. Worley had played in 12 games for the team as a key special teams contributor.
In his place, they have signed linebacker Jeremiah Moon to the team. Once on the team’s active roster, Moon has played in seven games and even forced a fumble. He can add depth to that room as the Ravens likely plan to rest a few of their key players there, despite making them active.
The team also elevated two players from the practice squad. Tight end Ben Mason will play in his first NFL game ever. He can play fullback and give some rest to Patrick Ricard, but also gives the Ravens insurance so they do not have to overuse Isaiah Likely at tight end, who has come strong over the last few weeks with the absence of Mark Andrews.
Veteran safety Andrew Adams is coming up, too. With Worley, a critical safety out, and Kyle Hamilton likely sitting, the team needs guys who can play. It’s unlikely they want to give Marcus Williams and Geno Stone a full-on workload, too, so Adams can provide them with quality reps against the Steelers.
The Ravens are not playing many of their key contributors against Pittsburgh on Saturday, but that does not mean they do not want to see the Steelers playoff hopes go down the drain. It’s a rivalry as always, but with a win, Pittsburgh would dramatically boost their odds of making it to the playoffs.
“Our guys love to play. They’re pro football players,” Ravnes head coach John Harbaugh said. “They want to go out there, and they want to play, and they want to play [a] long [time], and they want to win. They want to put their best foot forward. The fact that it’s a division rival – the [Pittsburgh] Steelers – that certainly doesn’t lessen it. It’s always a very important game for us. It’s a team that we respect very much. We also understand the type of game that we’re always playing against those guys, so our guys are looking forward to it.”
The team will rest starting quarterback Lamar Jackson, opting to play Tyler Huntley instead. But Huntley is familiar with the Steelers. The team beat him in Baltimore last season when Kenny Pickett found Najee Harris for a touchdown to keep the Steelers’ playoff hopes alive.