The Ravens’ secondary will not get a boost Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because cornerback Arthur Maulet could not be activated from injured reserve with knee and hamstring injuries.
The Ravens need to put Maulet on the 53-man roster by midweek week or place him on season-ending injured reserve because his 21-day practice window is scheduled to close.
Tampa Bay has a prolific passing attack behind quarterback Baker Mayfield, who has completed 134 of 189 passes for 1,489 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions in six games.
The Ravens’ pass defense has been their weakness and they are ranked 31st in the NFL, allowing 275.7 yards per game.
Baltimore’s secondary will be challenged by Tampa Bay’s two strong wide receivers — Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Godwin leads the team with 43 receptions for 511 yards with five touchdowns. Evans has caught 25 passes for 310 yards with five scores but he is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury.
In addition, the Ravens signed running back Chris Collier and elevated linebacker Kristian Welch from the practice squad for Monday night’s game. The Ravens need depth on special teams with rookie running back Rasheen Ali (ankle) and Deonte Harty (knee) ruled out with injuries.
Collier had reached the maximum three practice squad elevations for game days so the Ravens also need to decide on whether to sign him to the 53-man roster. Welch was signed by the Ravens after being released by the Denver Broncos last week. Welch spent his first three seasons in the NFL with the Ravens, appearing in 43 games and making 21 tackles, primarily on special teams.
Tampa Bay placed starting cornerback Jamel Dean on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury. The Buccaneers’ pass defense is already among the worst in the NFL, allowing 252.3 yards per game.
Tampa Bay activated defensive lineman Earnest Brown from injured reserve.
