The Ravens have activated cornerback Asa Jackson, paving the way for him to possibly see time in his first game Sunday against Cincinnati.
Jackson was suspended for the first eight games of the season for his second violation of the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, and returned to practice for the first time this week since training camp.
His activation comes at a good time because the Ravens have a handful of injuries in their secondary. Cornerbacks Jimmy Smith (thigh) and Corey Graham (calf) and safety James Ihedigbo (toe) are all questionable to play.
Thus, Jackson could be called to action. He is one of only three completely healthy cornerbacks with Lardarius Webb and Chykie Brown.
Upon Jackson's return this week, Head Coach John Harbaugh told him, "Be ready to run."
"Obviously I'm going try to get into the rotation on special teams and eventually the defense," Jackson said. "I want to become a better cornerback and want to transfer that stuff to special teams."
Jackson saw action in three games as a rookie and made one tackle. The 5-foot-10, 182-pound cornerback has added some bulk during his time off and did well in practice this week.
"Asa looked good. He looked like he was in shape," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "Like always, working the little nuances of the game and stuff like that. After a few weeks off, those are things in terms of knocking the rust off. But I thought he was surprisingly sharp, and he looked good."
To make room for Jackson on the 53-man roster, the Ravens moved guard Kelechi Osemele to injured reserve. Osemele had already been ruled out for Sunday's game due to a back injury that also held him out last week in Cleveland.
Osemele is going to have back surgery and it's a three-to-four month recovery, according to Harbaugh. He's expected to be back in time for next year's offseason program.
