Chris Redman could appear back under center as soon as tomorrow.
A back injury has sidelined the Ravens' quarterback since an Oct. 20 victory over Jacksonville. In the past four weeks, he has been listed as the No. 3 quarterback. When the Ravens visits Cincinnati tomorrow, however, Redman will most likely be listed as the backup, meaning he'll be first in line if the Ravens need to replace Jeff Blake.
"I think he's doing OK," coach Brian Billick said. "He's getting better, and he'll be listed as [No.] 2 probably, which means we're gaining ground."
The Ravens' offense has sputtered behind Blake in recent weeks. Before the end of the season, will Redman be competing for the job he held in the first six weeks?
"We'll have to see how much further we go, and where he is with it," said Billick, who raised the issue of surgery. "We're still not out of the woods in terms of the procedure, in terms of, do they have to go in and do something surgically? We're very optimistic. He had a good week, but until the doctors say we've cleared that hurdle, that's where we are."
Redman was encouraged by his progress.
"Obviously, I've been feeling a lot better," said the third-year pro, who has complained of the back injury causing leg pain. "I'm a lot stronger, and I just want to keep working my way up. I feel a lot more confidence in my leg."
McAlister back?
Redman, left guard Edwin Mulitalo (chest) and cornerback Chris McAlister (ankle) all remained questionable on the injury report, but Billick was confident that the latter two will be in the starting lineup tomorrow. McAlister, however, wasn't making any predictions after his hopes to return didn't pan out in recent weeks. He has missed the past three games with an ankle injury.
"The last three weeks I knew I couldn't play on Saturday night, but this is truly going to be a game-time decision," said McAlister, who saw linebacker Ray Lewis' comeback from injury last one game. "If I'm not ready to go, then don't go. Rushing it is only going to make the injury worse and make me miss more games than I need to. The whole point is to come back when I can and help, and not come back and be a part of a problem."
Extra points
The Bengals' Brandon Bennett, who returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown in a 38-27 loss to the Ravens on Nov. 10, has been slowed by a knee injury and was downgraded from questionable to doubtful yesterday.
Ravens punter Dave Zastudil, meanwhile, has placed nine of his kicks inside the opponents' 20-yard line in the past two games. In the first nine games, he dropped 15 inside the 20, and his recent accuracy gives him a league-leading 24 "pooch" punts.
Team officials said the club would resod the field at Ravens Stadium after this weekend's high school games. Much of the current sod has been damaged and become loose.
Sun staff writer Jamison Hensley contributed to this article.