The roster cuts weren't the only news that swirled around the Baltimore Ravens facility yesterday. A number of key players returned from their short absences caused by injuries.

A big relief is in the air knowing that the three starting cornerbacks are all right, particularly Lardarius Webb. He missed the entire preseason with a back injury and hasn't participated in a team practice in about six weeks.

Another key player in the secondary that returned to practice on the day was fourth-year man Jimmy Smith. He bruised his chest in week two against the Carolina Panthers and was seen spitting up blood in the locker room later that night.

"Very encouraging to get all those guys practicing," Ravens coach John Harbaugh told reporters after Saturday's practice. "I think we had everybody practicing today. It's encouraging to see that. Those guys all looked good. We'll just take it one day at a time from there."

Asa Jackson was fighting for the third cornerback spot before he suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss the last two weeks of the preseason. He has since returned to practice.

Whether he or Chykie Brown will be the third cornerback or not will be an interesting situation to keep an eye on. Derek Cox figures to be back in the mix, as The Baltimore Sun is reporting he should be back on the roster soon.

There were also a couple of other key contributors to return to practice on Saturday.

Backup running back Bernard Pierce, who went down with a concussion in week three against the Washington Redskins, will be good to go to start the regular season. He will likely be the starting running back during Ray Rice's two game suspension.

One other player that returned to practice today was backup offensive tackle Jah Reid. He practiced for the first time since suffering a concussion prior to the third preseason game.

With all the Ravens starters healthy and ready to roll, we should see the expected starting roster participating in the opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.