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Terrell Suggs, Jimmy Smith, Timmy Jernigan among four Ravens players missing from Wednesday's practice

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As Jason Myers was lining up for a 52-yard field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter that could have given the

Elvis Dumervil missed another practice, putting his projected debut Sunday in jeopardy.

The Ravens still have a lot of questions in the secondary, but they view Lardarius Webb as one of the solutions.

NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said the ball was spotted on the 33.5-yard line, and the black line-of-scrimmage graphic on ESPN's broadcast was right on the 33-yard line.

The Ravens have lamented a couple of key calls that went against them late in games, but this time around, they may have caught a break in their victory over the Cleveland Browns.

With starting safety Kendrick Lewis sidelined by a bone bruise in his knee and reserve Terrence Brooks out with a thumb injury, longtime special teamer Brynden Trawick was rewarded with his most extensive defensive snaps to date on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, and could see his role expand Monday against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Ravens are missing one defensive starter and a couple of key reserves for their season-opener against the Denver Broncos.

Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec breaks down the offense, defense, special teams and intangibles heading into the Ravens' game against the Broncos in Denver.

For months, they've heard the talk about how they could be the weak link of an otherwise championship-caliber team. They've been reminded about their roles in blowing two 14-point leads in an AFC divisional playoff loss to the New England Patriots in January. They've dealt with injuries and change, and now the Ravens' secondary gets another challenge: Peyton Manning.

In his first comments since the Ravens trimmed their roster to the 53-man group they essentially began the week with, coach John Harbaugh said there were several positions where the team had tough decisions to make.

A couple of days after they got down to 53 men, the Ravens' roster remains unchanged. What gives?

In getting down to a 53-man roster Saturday, the Ravens showed a willingness to move on from their draft picks, the importance that they place on special teams and how much they value having defensive depth.

Wide receivers Daniel Brown, who caught a touchdown and blocked a punt in Thursday night's preseason-closing loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and Tom Nelson, offensive tackle Blaine Clausell, inside linebacker Andrew Bose and cornerback Quinton Pointer were all let go. Their releases leave the Ravens with 70 players, meaning that they'll have to make 17 more moves by 4 p.m. on Saturday.

What happened to all of the roster competitions? It¿s a fair question to ask as the Ravens prepare to trim 22 players from their roster to get down to 53 by Saturday.

After reviewing the tape, Ravens coach John Harbaugh gave safety Terrence Brooks high marks for his preseason debut.

As the Ravens get ready to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field in their second preseason contest, their cornerback situation is far less concerning than it was a year earlier. Even with Lardarius Webb again sidelined with an injury, the team has a healthy Jimmy Smith, along with a mix of battle-tested veterans and young unheralded corners who are finally getting an opportunity.

The Ravens were already living on the edge when they signed strong safety Will Hill to a contract last July. They moved even closer after Matt Elam tore his biceps during the first week of the 2015 training camp, forcing him to miss the entire season.

A pair of quick three-and-outs meant the Ravens starting defense watched the final three quarters of Thursday's last-second 30-27 win over the New Orleans Saints as satisfied but interested spectators when their backups took over. They watched the reserves concede five scoring drives in seven tries, not counting the Saints' Hail Mary attempt at the final whistle, and saw a unit that lacked experience struggle to meet the Ravens' lofty standard.

Ravens cornerback Kyle Arrington started Thursday's preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at cornerback, then shifted to safety with the second team.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a mixed day as camp resumed Monday.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a strong start to Wednesday's training camp practice.

With safety Matt Elam, the Ravens' 2013 first-round NFL draft, pick headed for injured reserve, the team must count on players like Brynden Trawick, Nick Perry, Anthony Levine, and perhaps Terrence Brooks to push projected starters Kendrick Lewis and Will Hill.

Safety Matt Elam, who was trying to justify the hype of being a first-round draft pick, will have surgery this week and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

A former NFL defensive back, secondary coach Chris Hewitt knows what his players face every day. It's that experience, and his balance of intensity and empathy, that leads Ravens players and coaches to believe he's the man to lead the secondary back to prominence in 2015.

The Baltimore Sun is breaking down where the Ravens stand at each position, including predictions on how many players the team will keep at each spot and which players are locks, long shots or ¿on the bubble.¿ Today, we highlight cornerbacks and safeties.

The Ravens managed to lower veteran punter Sam Koch's salary-cap figure by $700,000 when they signed him to a five-year, $16.25 million contract extension, according to NFL Players Association records and league sources.

Ravens' officials won't have to make roster decisions for nearly 2 1/2 months, but past trends could provide a glimpse to what direction they'll go.

The Ravens are $7.331 million under the NFL salary-cap limit of $143.28 million.

Nick Perry, a safety, and Trey DePriest, an inside linebacker, are products of the University of Alabama, the alma mater of Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and a frequent source of Ravens defensive talent. They play positions where undrafted players frequently stick on the Ravens roster.

The Ravens are $7.384 million under the NFL salary-cap limit of $143.28 million.

Anthony Levine is a valued special teams performer for the Ravens who started three games at cornerback when injuries hit the team.

Until April 30, the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, The Baltimore Sun will examine the Ravens¿ depth at each position, the potential of them adding to that spot early in the draft and some of the players who they could target.

Following their four-year, $48 million contract extension for cornerback Jimmy Smith, the Ravens are $10.673 million under the NFL salary-cap limit of $143.28 million.

Veteran tight end Dennis Pitta is participating in the Ravens' voluntary conditioning program that started Monday.

The Ravens are $7.685 million under the NFL salary-cap limit of $143.28 million. That includes a $2 million salary-cap figure for new backup quarterback Matt Schaub.

When veteran cornerback Lardarius Webb recently restructured his contract, he did so with the intention of finishing his career with the Ravens.

Despite the losses of Haloti Ngata and Pernell McPhee and the ongoing questions about the secondary, Ravens coach John Harbaugh didn't sound all too worried about the state of his team's defense.

The Ravens are $7.875 million under the NFL salary-cap limit of $143.28 million, a solid financial situation at this stage of the offseason.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh met with reporters for about an hour on the second day of the NFL owners meetings at the Arizona Biltmore hotel. Here are a couple of tidbits.

The frenzied start of the free agency and trade season has slowed in recent days, but the annual league meetings will get things going again.

The fact that the Ravens have sustained so many free-agent losses shouldn't be a big surprise, but their failure to add a wide receiver or a cornerback to this point is highly unexpected.

The NFL has financially rewarded Ravens offensive tackle Rick Wagner under its performanced-based pay program.

Day two of free agency brought more reminders of the Ravens' key offseason losses. The team continued to weigh their free-agent options, exercising patience as they try to fill roster holes without an abundance of salary cap space.

The Ravens have re-signed reserve defensive back and core special-teams contributor Anthony Levine to a two-year contract, according to league sources.

Now that the Ravens are roughly $9.835 million under the NFL salary cap limit of $143.28 million, league sources indicated that a major spending spree isn't in the offing.

With the start of the new NFL year looming this afternoon, the Ravens had not reached an agreement Monday night on new contracts with defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and cornerback Lardarius Webb, whose current deals will make it extremely difficult for the organization to be active in free agency.

The Ravens have assigned a $2.356 million second-round restricted free agent tender on Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker, according to a league source.

Ravens officials didn't give up a whole lot, but they made it clear that they are prepared to lose several key players.

After leaving the Ravens news conference Tuesday afternoon, major concerns still remain about the team's poor secondary.