OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens have the luxury of resting some players in the regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With the 56-19 victory over the Miami Dolphins, the Ravens clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
As a result, coach John Harbaugh can give several players the day off, including quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Harbaugh hasn’t decided what he wants to do.
“I’ve given a lot of thought to it, and it was all hypothetical until just now,” Harbaugh said. “I’m sure I’ll talk to Lamar, and I’m sure he’s going to want to play. But we’re going to have to talk about that and decide what we want to do. You can only take six players out of the equation. There’s going to be injuries anyway, so it’s not like the preseason. You’re playing your team except for whoever you end up taking out. We’re going to have to have the conversation. We have not made any decision there yet.”
In addition to Jackson, the Ravens can give several other players more to heal before they play their first playoff game on January 20th or 21st.
Safety Kyle Hamilton (knee), guard Kevin Zeitler (knee, quad), and cornerback Brandon Stephens (ankle) were inactive against the Dolphins. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey injured his calf in the first quarter and did not return.
Nose tackle Michael Pierce and defensive back Daryl Worley each sustained stingers against Miami and were evaluated for head injuries before being cleared to return to action.
Harbaugh is happy to have the extra time to prepare and recuperate.
“It’s going to be valuable. There’s no doubt about it,” he said. “Our guys are going to keep working hard and preparing to be ready to play. They’ll practice. They’ll lift. They’ll do all the things they have to do, but that extra week is going to be very valuable.”
