Hendrickson Active With Cast vs Saints

Baltimore Ravens pass rusher Trey Hendrickson is active for Sunday's home opener against the New Orleans Saints and will play with a cast after breaking a finger into several pieces, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported and the club confirmed on its inactive list. Hendrickson missed Wednesday and Thursday practice, returned Friday, and stayed questionable until gameday. He logged eight pressures in his Ravens debut last week and is chasing his first sack in purple.

That is a real boost for a Baltimore front already missing Zay Flowers on offense and waiting on Nnamdi Madubuike and Teddye Buchanan to debut. A cast changes how you finish a tackle. It does not invent zero pressure. Expect Hendrickson to still crash the edge on Tyler Shough.

Stanley and Simpson also in

Left tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe) and left guard John Simpson (groin) are both active after limited weeks, which keeps the Derrick Henry lane intact with Flowers and Ja'Kobi Lane out. Rookie Elijah Sarratt makes his NFL debut with the wideout room thinned. Rashod Bateman steps into the lead receiver spot.

Saints wideout Chris Olave (hamstring) and pass rusher Chase Young (calf) are also expected to play, so Baltimore is not catching New Orleans half-empty. Fantasy IDP rooms that streamed Hendrickson can keep him in. Do not invent a sack guarantee from a casted hand. Pressure and disruption still count.

Baltimore's inactive sheet also parks Madubuike (neck) and Buchanan (knee) another week. The pass rush needs Hendrickson more because of that. Playing through a broken finger is the tough-guy stamp. How often he wins late in downs is the real test once the cast hits pads.

Baltimore already leaned on Hendrickson's first-week pressure when Flowers was healthy. Without Flowers, the defense has to win early downs and force Shough into obvious passing looks. A casted hand is not ideal. An inactive Hendrickson would have been worse. He is out there. That is the Sunday stamp.

M&T Bank Stadium

Saints at Ravens, 1 p.m. ET. Finger in pieces. Cast on. Active. That is Hendrickson's Week 2 board.

Broken finger. Still rushing. Home opener locked.