Ray Lewis finally is back on the Baltimore Ravens' active roster. Just don't expect to see the linebacker on the field quite yet.
The Ravens moved Lewis to the active roster Wednesday and placed wide receiver LaQuan Williams on injured reserve. Ultimately, this was a procedural move.
Lewis was placed on IR but designated to return after he tore his triceps during a Week 6 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The Ravens had reached the point where they had to move him to the active roster because he returned to practice three weeks ago.
NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported last week that Lewis isn't expected to play in the Ravens' regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he'll now be eligible to suit up for the playoffs. Ravens coach John Harbaughlater confirmed to reporters Sunday that Lewis wouldn't return until the playoffs.
"We will not look at him again for this week. We'll look at him (for) the playoffs," Harbaugh said. "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 is progressing really well. I'm not saying he couldn't have played the last couple of weeks, but it would've been risky to re-injure it. The fact that there was some patience on Ray's part and our part, it turned out well."
The Ravens hope they've turned around their season with their thrashing of the New York Giants last Sunday. Getting Lewis back for the playoffs should provide the Ravens with an emotional lift, not to mention help for an extremely thin linebacker depth chart.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.