The Baltimore Ravens are going to rest a ton of players this week when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers. The easier thing to do would be to list the players who actually will suit up. So, we will do just that.
4. The Baltimore Ravens should play John Simpson a full game
The Baltimore Ravens are highly unlikely to play four of their five starters in the regular season finale against Pittsburgh. Ronnie Stanley and Morgan Moses have both been banged up over the course of the season, and the Ravens have limited their snaps in recent weeks to try to get them into the playoffs with full health. They accomplished that mission, and both need a break, so it is hard to see either one play. Beyond that, both Patrick Mekari and Daniel Faalele could use the work.
Tyler Linderbaum will sit as well, and Kevin Zeitler has already been deemed out with an injury. The only question is John Simpson. Simpson has done fine this season, but he is the lineman who deserves the game off the least. He still has issues with penalties and, at times, can be a liability in pass protection.
Also, he is fully healthy, while the rest of them have had to miss time. Lastly, while the team cannot afford to lose the other four, the drop from him to his backup may not be as devastating. It would be good for Simpson to keep continuity and try to string some solid play together. The Ravens cannot sit everyone, and he is one of those players.
3. The Baltimore Ravens need Rashod Bateman at wide receiver
Rashod Bateman has had a disappointing season, to say the least. Despite being healthy for nearly the entire year, Bateman still only posted 367 yards with one touchdown. He is at 1.15 yards per route run this season, which is below the 1.26 he posted as a rookie and 2.38, which he posted in his shortened second season.
Needless to say, this year has been a step back. Some of it comes down to his health taking away from his ability to progress. Other issues are all of the new receivers around him. This week, that will not be a problem.
Odell Beckham is out, and Zay Flowers is doubtful. When you add in that Devin Duvernay is on the IR, and Tylan Wallace is on the injury report this week, the Ravens simply do not have enough wide receivers to bench Bateman.
Right now, the only three healthy wideouts are Bateman, Nelson Agholor, and Laquan Treadwell. If the Ravens want to pass on Saturday, they will keep Bateman active.
Bateman is not complaining, either. He needs to get into a groove, and maybe getting peppered targets this week will spark something for the playoffs.
2. Will Geno Stone start for the Baltimore Ravens?
This is another scenario where Geno Stone will have to start simply because they do not have enough players to get onto the field. Kyle Hamilton is highly unlikely to play with a knee injury and while Marcus Williams does not have a serious injury right now, he is still recovering from a pec injury that caused him to miss time early in the year. His tackling has been worse as he gets over the pain of this issue.
With that in mind, we will not see him this week. Daryl Worley was also deemed out. So, as it stands, the only healthy Baltimore Ravens safety is Geno Stone. The Ravens will activate Ar’Darius Washington from the IR this week, so those two should be the expected starters, although there are not many other options.
Stone needs to start as well. He recorded an interception against Miami, his first in six weeks. He has been struggling a lot more with Marcus Williams back after he did so well filling in for Williams. So, the Ravens can use this game to have Washington pretend he is Williams and let Stone continue to grow in a role next to a more rangy safety.
Not only does Stone need to start due to lack of depth, but he should also want to start getting back to his best ways when the playoffs start.
1. How much will Isaiah Likely play for the Baltimore Ravens
This is another obvious decision, mainly due to a lack of depth. Without Mark Andrews, the Ravens have Isaiah Likley and Charlie Kolar as their only tight ends. Likely is a key starter, and an injury would be devastating, but at the same time, he really needs to get the playing time on the field.
Likely still has just seven starts this season, and those are essentially the only snaps he has gotten as the lead dog, and not as a backup or secondary target behind Mark Andrews. So, Likely could use this time to sharpen things such as his routes, blocking, and hand placement.
The Ravens cannot just play Charlie Kolar every snap without a backup, and Likely would be playing if this were a preason type of performance due to his lack of experience. Do not be surprised if he gets a normal workload against Pittsburgh.