In the Baltimore Ravens' first 12 games of the 2018 season, cornerback Anthony Averett played 32 defensive snaps. In the 13th game, against the Kansas City Chiefs' top-ranked offense, the rookie from Alabama played 39.

And he could be in line for extra duty again when the Ravens take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the NFL's No. 1 passing team, on Sunday.

Baltimore needed Averett to play a bigger role because his former Crimson Tide teammate Marlon Humphrey and nickelback Tavon Young were dealing with groin injuries. Averett played more than he ever had on Sunday because Humphrey and Young played less than they had in any game this season, getting on the field for 51 and 28 percent, respectively, of the Ravens' defensive snaps against Kansas City.

“Anthony played well,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. "He played really well, not surprisingly. He’s been playing well. He’s answered every bell so far that we’ve -- every round he’s gone out there, he’s done a good job. He only gets better. It just makes our corner situation even better than it was before. I was really pleased with how he played.

"It helped Marlon, too, as far as the long-term health for him.”

Humphrey missed two games in October because of a thigh injury before suffering the groin injury.

“It’s just a groin,” Harbaugh said. "It’s annoying. It takes a while for it to go away completely. Sometimes you can re-tweak it a little bit, too. It’s probably something he’s going to be feeling for a while. It’s just the way groins are.”

Humphrey did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. The Ravens listed him as a limited participant on Friday and designated him as questionable for Sunday’s game. Young also was listed as questionable.

“He’s just trying to get this strong and make sure it’s right,” Harbaugh said of Humphrey after Friday’s practice. "He was out there today. We’ll have to watch the tape and talk to Ron (Medlin, the head certified athletic trainer) and just kind of see how -- and Marlon, of course -- and see how he looked and how he felt.”

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Against Kansas City, the Ravens used Averett to give Humphrey short breaks in the second half and overtime.

“He’s been really important,” Baltimore defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale said. “You can just see he’s getting used to pro football and the tempo of the game and preparing himself for each game.

"The best compliment that I could give him -- and I know this probably sounds like a backhanded compliment -- is he played 30 plays, and I didn’t realize he played that 30 plays. They did not go after him. He’s playing at a high level right now.”

Averett might have had more playing time before the Kansas City game, but he also had an injury this season. The fourth-round draft choice missed five games -- the third through the seventh of 2018 -- with a hamstring injury.

The Buccaneers and Ravens kick off at noon CST Sunday at M&T Bank in Baltimore.

Tampa Bay has a 5-8 record with three games left in the regular season.

At 7-6, the Ravens are one-half game out of the lead in the AFC North, trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers, who play the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Baltimore also is the current holder of the final wild-card playoff spot in the AFC, leading three other 7-6 teams because of tie-breakers.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.