The Ravens have not ruled out the possibility of safety Ed Reed playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, but it's looking like a long shot if you read the tea leaves.

Reed, who has missed the past three games with what the team has described as a "hip strain," was in Miami on Wednesday having his hip evaluated by a specialist. It is the most games Reed has missed in a season since 2005.

"We just want to exhaust every precaution to make sure our guys are healthy and ready to go," coach John Harbaugh said. "Ed has confidence in Dr. [John] Uribe down there in Miami. We just want to take a look at it and see where it's at. We feel like he's making progress and there's a chance he'll play. We'll know more when he gets back."

This development was first reported by NFL.com.

Reed's potential absence comes as the Steelers are still waiting to get word on whether their own Pro Bowl safety, Troy Polamalu, will be back from an injury. Polamalu has missed the past five games, and nine this season, with sprained ligaments in his left knee.

"I think [Reed's situation] is probably similar to what changes for us when Troy is out," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "The calls are the same, the expectations are the same, but the nature of what that person has done is irreplaceable."

Surprisingly, Reed's absence has not caused chaos in the Ravens' secondary. And part of that is because of Reed.

"He's always been a vocal leader on the sideline," strong safety Dwan Landry said. "He's a coach there, just like he's a coach on the field. Everything he does when he's in the lineup, he does when he's out of the lineup. He's still giving us tips when he's on the sideline. 'Look for this, look for that.' That's a big plus for us."

Landry said he is hopeful Reed would be able to play this week but wasn't sure whether Reed would be healthy enough. Reed's absence has forced Landry to take on more leadership responsibilities, and he has played some of his best football.

"I've just had to be more vocal," Landry said. "Usually, me and Ed, we might look around and already know which way we're going before a play. So we just try to make sure me and [Tom Zbikowski] are on the same page. We'll talk about who is going to do what before every play."

DeCosta a GM candidate?

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said Wednesday that the Seattle Seahawks have not contacted him for permission to speak with Eric DeCosta, the Ravens' director of player personnel, about their general manager's job.

Tim Ruskell recently resigned as Seahawks GM, and according to ProFootballTalk.com, the Seahawks have identified a list of candidates that includes DeCosta, Eagles GM Tom Heckert and John Schneider, the director of football operations for the Green Bay Packers.

DeCosta, 38, is in his 14th season with the Ravens, having worked his way up from area scout.

Ivy workout

Ravens cornerback Corey Ivy, who was signed this week to fill in for Lardarius Webb after Webb sustained a knee injury, might have been a familiar face for the Ravens, but that didn't stop them from asking him to run a 40-yard dash before they agreed to sign him.

"Usually, you don't do that with veteran guys," Harbaugh said. "But our scouts, led by Ozzie [Newsome], they do that. They really challenge these guys in workouts, and [Ivy's] in great shape. He should be able to help us right away."

Ivy said he didn't mind posting a 40 time. He was just happy to get a phone call after keeping himself in shape all this time.

"That's part of the territory," Ivy said. "You have to prove yourself, and that's what I did. I guess I impressed the scouts. It feels good to be back because I know a lot of the players, and the schemes are pretty much the same. I just have to get up to speed, and hopefully I can make an impact when my number is called. It's always frustrating when you know you can play in the league [and the offers aren't there], but God has a plan for everybody, and I was staying in shape until I finally got the call."

Ivy said he stayed in shape, in part, by playing a lot of golf and walking miles and miles carrying his clubs.

"I like golf because you can never perfect it," Ivy said.

Big Ben can move

Although Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked 43 times this season - second most in the NFL - the Steelers quarterback is one of the more difficult players to tackle.

"Obviously his size, [he's] a big, strong, athletic guy," Ravens outside linebacker Jarret Johnson said of Roethlisberger, 6 feet 5 and 241 pounds. "So you grab on to him, ands it's not like grabbing on to Brooks Bollinger or somebody else. Ben's a big dude. I think the other thing is, he understands his mobility. When he sees a free runner, he's going to stand there and let you run full speed. He knows that all he's got to do is twist or take one or two steps - especially on that field, where you can't redirect. I think it's not only his size and his athletic ability, but it's also that he's a smart guy."

Maintaining a consistent pass rush against Roethlisberger will be crucial Sunday. Roethlisberger threw for 503 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-36 win over the Packers, and the Ravens' secondary will feature its fourth different starting cornerback in Chris Carr and possibly second-year safety Zbikowski instead of Reed.

And unlike many quarterbacks, Roethlisberger excels when he's on the run, Johnson said.

"With most guys, we always say: 'Move them off their spot. Get them out into space.' When he's running around and making stuff happen is when he's at his most dangerous," Johnson said. "But that's also a bad thing because he can also stand in the pocket and carve you up. So it's dangerous. You want to get after him and you want to move him, but you also always want to have someone in his face because when he gets out there in space and is running around, it seems like that's when he's at his most accurate."

Wide receiver update

With just four healthy wide receivers on the active roster, the Ravens could use a bit of good news regarding the availability of Mark Clayton and Kelley Washington.

Clayton, who has missed the past two games after tweaking his right hamstring in a loss to the Packers on Dec. 7, sounded optimistic that he will be able to play against the Steelers.

"I feel like I'll be able to play," said Clayton, who has caught 33 passes for 473 yards and two touchdowns this season. "I'm feeling pretty good. Going into that first practice will kind of be the determining factor whether I play or not, but I feel a lot better than I have in the past couple weeks."

Washington was more cautious about his injured ankle, which forced him to sit out Sunday's 31-7 rout of the Chicago Bears.

"We'll see how it goes," he said. "This would be a game that I definitely don't want to miss."

If Clayton and Washington can't play, that would leave the Ravens with Derrick Mason, Demetrius Williams, Justin Harper and David Tyree.

Backup long snapper added

The Ravens signed long snapper Nick Sundberg to the practice squad Wednesday as insurance in case elbow and hand injuries continue to be a problem for veteran Matt Katula.

Katula sailed a field-goal snap high against the Bears, forcing Billy Cundiff into an awkward approach that ultimately led to a missed kick. Harbaugh said Wednesday that Katula had been bothered by tendinitis in his elbow this season, but Katula refused to blame the bad snap on an injury.

"It's just one of those things that shouldn't happen," Katula said. "I don't really know what it was. Sometimes it just doesn't come out the way you want it to. I apologized to Billy a bunch. I saw how mad he was that he missed it, and I hate when I feel responsible for someone else not being able to do their job. It's just a terrible feeling."

Katula conceded that tendinitis has been a bit of an issue for him recently.

"Anyone that does the same thing over and over, a repetitive motion, that's something you're going to deal with," Katula said. "You just have to trust the doctor's judgment and get it healed."

Baltimore Sun reporters Edward Lee, Ken Murray and Jamison Hensley contributed to this article.