Josh Bynes will step into the roster spot vacated by Ray Lewis – again.
When Lewis went down for four games with a toe injury last year, Bynes was called on from the practice squad. Now that Lewis is likely out for the year, Bynes could have an elongated stay.
The former undrafted rookie free agent from Auburn was signed from the practice squad to the active roster Wednesday.
"It's a blessing to be on the field and hopefully I stay here the rest of the year to contribute in any way to this team," Bynes said. "That's a great feeling, especially with the situation that I had."
Bynes suffered a serious back injury during training camp. He said it took him six weeks to recover from cracked vertebrae, but now feels better than before the injury.
"The injury makes you work on some areas you probably needed to work on," Bynes said. "All of a sudden, I felt like I could run faster, I felt more fluid and better about myself, as crazy as it sounds."
Contributing on special teams will be key to Bynes being activated on gameday, but he's also not far down the defensive depth chart with Lewis out.
Bynes is behind Jameel McClain and Dannell Ellerbe, providing support along with Albert McClellan and Brendon Ayanbadejo.
Bynes was active for one game against the San Francisco 49ers last year, a game the Ravens won, 16-6. The Ravens won all four games with Lewis sidelined last year.
"We can't think about our leader being down," Bynes said. "We still have to go out there and execute. I think we'll do a really good job because we've been in the same position before, and we did really well. So, I think we'll do excellent coming up this week."
The Ravens also signed linebacker Nigel Carr and cornerback Jordan Maybin to the practice squad, taking the spots vacated by Bynes and running back Bobby Rainey, who was activated Tuesday.
Carr (Alabama State) and Mabin (Northwestern) spent the offseason and training camp with the Ravens, but did not make the final cut.
"Both of those guys did a nice job for us, and they'll provide us with some depth and some practice reps," Harbaugh said.
