Pro Bowl Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis will not play in the team’s final regular season game next week at Cincinnati.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh confirmed the disappointing news Sunday. It will be the ninth straight game Lewis has missed.
Lewis, who hasn’t played since tearing his right triceps muscle October 14, returned to practice in early December and was expected to suit up for the Ravens as early as last week .
Atrophy in the muscle, however, forced him to sit against Denver last week and against the Giants on Sunday.
The team is 4-4 since losing the 37-year old, two-time NFL defensive player of the year.
“We’ll look at him for the playoffs,” Harbaugh told ESPN . “It’s an injury that is a 12- to 16-week injury. So, if you do the math going back, we thought there was a chance. He’s progressing really well. I’m not saying he couldn’t have played the last couple of weeks, but it would’ve been risky to reinjure it.”
When asked whether there’s a chance Lewis might not play even once the playoffs roll around in two weeks, coach Harbaugh said:
“There’s always a chance. We can’t say right now for sure.”
In addition to Ray Lewis, the Ravens also will be without linebacker Jameel McClain, who went on injured reserve with a bruised spine.
McClain joins cornerback Lardarius Webb , who is out for the season with a torn ACL; safety Bernard Pollard, who has missed the last two games with a rib injury;and linebacker Terrell Suggs (Achilles); and cornerback Jimmy Smith.