Ed Reed set to return to the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed will practice with the team for the first time this season on Wednesday. The
former Defensive Player of the Year has been unable to participate in practice since being placed on the Physically Unable to Perform List before the start of the NFL regular season.
The move to the PUP was necessitated by the fact that the six-time All-Pro safety had hip surgery during the off-season and was not fully recovered when the Ravens needed to pare their
roster down to 53 players.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh commented that Reed appeared to be “very fit.” He also stated, “We can’t be sure that he’s going to play this week, so we’ll just have to see how it goes.
The Ravens will face the 0-5 Buffalo Bills this Sunday in Baltimore.
It is no secret that Reed is anxious to return to game play. A few weeks into his stay on the PUP list he contacted the NFL Players Association to see if he could get the mandatory six-week
stay on the list reduced.
There is no doubt that Reed will improve the Ravens defence but the team does not need rush Reed back if he is not ready for Sunday’s game. The defence has done well while Reed has been
absent, ranking third in the NFL in total yards allowed per game.
The one aspect of the game that Reed will help with is interceptions. The Ravens have had only two interceptions this season by their secondary. Reed is the all-time leader in interceptions
for the team with 46.
If Reed is able to play this week, the team still expects Tom Zbikowski to handle some time at the safety position. Zbikowski has been the starter at safety since the start of the season.
For his part, Zbikowski had a positive attitude about Reed’s return and his own place with the Ravens, “I’ll be able to get out there, maybe help out on defence and punt returns. Whatever
the team needs, I’m going to do my best.”
When Reed is activated, the Ravens will need to make a roster move in order to stay at the league mandated 53-man squad. If Reed is activated for this Sunday, they will have until 4 p.m.
Saturday to make that decision.
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