The Baltimore Ravens used their Week 8 bye to heal up. After another season in which they’ve seen impact players go down with injuries too often, Baltimore may see several return in Week 9 against the New England Patriots.

Linebacker Patrick Onwuasor and wide receiver Marquise Brown look to be on track this week after missing the last two games with ankle injuries. But perhaps the most important player looking to return is cornerback Jimmy Smith. Smith played just six defensive snaps in Week 1 before going down with a knee sprain that has kept him out of the last six games.

When asked about his status for Sunday night’s game against the Patriots, Smith seemed to indicate he’ll be back.

Ravens CB Jimmy Smith on whether he’ll play against the Patriots: “I’m ready.” Smith has missed the past six games with a knee injury. — Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) October 30, 2019

We’ll see where Smith appears on the injury report this week, but he did return to practice in a limited fashion in Week 7. With an extra week to recuperate, there’s hope Smith will be ready to roll for what is easily the biggest test of the Ravens’ season thus far.

Baltimore’s secondary has struggled mightily without Smith. The defense has steadily gotten better over the last few games after making changes at linebacker and trading for cornerback Marcus Peters, but the unit has been disappointing all season. Smith would only help a secondary that has allowed the 26th most-passing yards per game this season.

Smith has missed 19 games since the start of the 2016 season. But when he’s on the field and healthy, Smith is a capable cornerback, notching five interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, over the 36 games he’s been active in over the same time span.

If Smith does return this week, it’ll be interesting to see just how much the coaches use him. Baltimore’s defense did a good job of containing the Seattle Seahawks passing attack in Week 7 with Peters, Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Carr as the primary cornerbacks. But Smith, at his best, can be a Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback and has the most experience in the Ravens’ defensive schemes. If defensive coordinator Don Martindale thinks there isn’t much rust for Smith to knock off, he could play quite a bit, but I’d expect Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to test him early on Sunday night.