Baltimore Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce hasn’t played since Week 8, but could make his return on Sunday.
Pierce, who’s missed the past five games with a calf injury, is listed as questionable on the Ravens’ final injury report. That puts him in decent position to come back Sunday against the New York Giants, provided he’s healthy enough.
In order to for Pierce to play, the Ravens must activate him off injured reserve by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. Luckily, they have three open roster spots right now, so they won’t have to waive anyone to make room for him.
The biggest player on the defense at 355 pounds, Pierce is a classic, run-stuffing nose tackle. In seven games this season, the ninth-year pro has 15 total tackles, three quarterback hits and one sack. Of course, his stats against the run are much harder to show than just the box score.
Pierce is one of four Ravens questionable for Sunday’s game, the others being cornerback T.J. Tampa (ankle), outside linebacker Adisa Isaac (hamstring) and safety Sanoussi Kane (hamstring). Isaac and Tampa returned to practice in a limited capacity on Friday, while Tampa is working his way back from injured reserve just like Pierce.
The best pieces of news to come from the injury report are the statuses of wide receiver Rashod Bateman (knee) and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (hamstring/neck), or more accurately, their lack thereof. They’ll both be good to go on Sunday, which is great news considering Bateman left the team’s previous game against the Philadelphia Eagles and Van Noy missed the game.
The Ravens and Giants will kick off from MetLife Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
