Ravens — Bengals Pregame Notes: Baltimore Parts Ways With Veterans. The Ravens already clinched a playoff spot, but can't win the AFC North.

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The Chicago Bears (3-13) will battle the Minnesota Vikings (12-4) on Sunday, where Chicago is looking to end a frustrating 2022 season on a positive note.

The Ravens parted ways with a couple of veterans and will also rest one of their key playmakers for their Week 18 game against the Bengals.

Baltimore waived tight end Nick Boyle and wide receiver DeSean Jackson to make room for quarterback Brett Hundley and defensive tackle Rayshad Nichols from the practice squad. The Ravens also activated wide receiver Tylan Wallace and cornerback Daryl Worley from IR

With Lamar Jackson out and Tyler Huntley listed as questionable, the Ravens need depth at cornerback.

The Ravens will also rest running back J.K. Dobbins so that he is fully ready for next week's playoff game, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Baltimore (10-6) has already clinched a playoff spot, but can't win the AFC North because of the unbalanced schedule created by the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game after Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest.

If the Ravens beat the Bengals (11-4) in Week 18 and then face them in the wild-card round, a coin flip will determine whether the game will be played in Baltimore or Cincinnati. Baltimore is currently the No. 6 seed in the playoffs but can move to the No. 5 seed if it beats Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Chargers lose to the Denver Broncos.

Boyle, 29, was selected by the Ravens in the fifth round (171st overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He is widely regarded as one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL, but suffered a devastating knee injury suffered midway through the 2020 season. Boyle returned last season but appeared in just five games. He has been active for 12 games this year but has just once played more than 10 offensive snaps.

Jackson was signed to the practice squad on Oct. 19 and elevated to the 53-man roster on Dec. 6. He's caught nine passes for 153 yards this season. Jackson has missed every practice this week due to illness.

It’s been a whirlwind week for the Cincinnati Bengals, to say the least. And, to finish the season, they have a game against the Baltimore Ravens that suddenly has more to play for than originally thought just a few days ago.

To get the inside scoop on the Ravens and this matchup, we tapped the knowledge of Kyle Barber over at SB Nation’s Baltimore Beatdown site. Here’s our Q & A for the rematch:

1.) AC: Let’s just be blunt about it: What’s going on with Lamar Jackson? Reports said his knee issue would be a 1-2 week thing and now he’s missing his fifth game because of it. Is there anything here pointing to protecting himself for the contract and/or because they knew they had a playoff spot sewn up and wanted to preserve him?

KB: On Friday, Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh addressed the media regarding the situation with Lamar Jackson. He essentially said the reason they haven’t had updates is due to the Ravens not having one.

There never was an official timeline released. Both Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter gave their reports but Harbaugh and the team never confirmed Jackson’s injury or the timeline to return, really.

It’s hard to not speculate that this is related to anything due to his contract or desire to continue playing for the Ravens, but we just do not know anything. That’s the way it’s been with Jackson since the beginning.

He doesn’t have an agent. He doesn’t communicate with the fans or with national reporters and as such, there is less information regarding him which opens up the floodgates to speculation.

I do believe part of this is due to securing a playoff spot, but also from what I’ve heard, he’s still dealing with the knee injury and could not play in any of these games.