OWINGS MILLS – Baltimore Ravens star free safety Ed Reed didn’t practice Thursday due to a neck stinger suffered Monday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It’s likely only a precautionary measure for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year since he participated fully in practice Wednesday and complained of no pain during interviews prior to practice.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh downplayed the injury this week, pointing out that it’s not on the same side as the nerve impingement that has bothered the All-Pro defensive back for the past few seasons.

“It's good,” Reed said following the 12-7 road loss. “It's sore right now. It was just one of those moments you can't do anything about. I'll get it looked it. It feels great. They just wanted me to come out. I had to come out for one play, just testing my strength.

“If you've ever had a stinger, it's a bad feeling. I could have moved my arm. It just felt so bad. I wanted to make sure nothing else was going on. The guy got me pretty good, hit me from the left side.”

Wide receiver Lee Evans (left ankle) and offensive guard Ben Grubbs (right turf toe) didn’t practice again and aren’t expected to play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Also not practicing: inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (hamstrings, groin) and rookie running back Anthony Allen (thigh).

Evans has missed the past four games and has caught only two passes for 45 yards since being acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.

“I’m not really going to speak to this week,” Evans said. “I just know right now, it feels a lot better. As the week goes along, we’ll determine what we need to determine. Really, it’s about the long term, and I think everybody knows that and that when we come back, it’s really go time.

“We can’t really have any setbacks. Obviously, I'd like to be back as soon as possible, but that's probably not the smartest thing to do. The best thing to do is just to be as smart as we can with it, and when it's ready to go, we'll go.”

It’s unclear if Evans’ potential return dates will be Nov. 6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers or subsequent games against the Seattle Seahawks and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Evans hasn’t played since the Ravens’ loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Evans said he’s making some progress.

"I'm just feeling a little better, so it's just opening up opportunities to do more," Evans said. "That's just where we're at now. It's a lot better than it had been at any point really since the Pittsburgh game. So, that's positive. It's just kind of getting over this last little hump.

“We've made a ton of progress and it's just a little bit more to go. It's kind of like when you're trying to lose 20 pounds, the last five is the hardest. So right now, we're just trying to lose that last five."

However, he acknowledged that he’s still experiencing some soreness.

"Yeah, a little bit, but it's not as great as it was," Evans said. "It's minimal. So that's positive. Hopefully within the next coming weeks, we can get out there and put this behind us.”

The Ravens upgraded cornerback Chris Carr (left hamstring) to full participation after he was limited Wednesday.

And strong safety Tom Zbikowski participated fully, but still hasn’t been cleared for contact yet after suffering a concussion against the New York Jets.

Cornerback Danny Gorrer was added to the injury report as limited with a thigh injury.

Reserve linebacker Prescott Burgess left practice to have his elbow wrapped, but isn’t listed on the injury report.

Cardinals outside linebacker Joey Porter (knee) and safety Kerry Rhodes (foot) didn’t practice while running back Beanie Wells (knee) and wide receiver Early Doucet (quadriceps) were limited after not practicing Wednesday.

HEAP LIMITED AGAIN: Hampered by a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for the past two games, Cardinals tight end Todd Heap is hoping he'll manage to return for Sunday's game against his old football team.

Cut by the Ravens for $4.6 million worth of salary-cap reasons and replaced by Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta, Heap was in Baltimore for a decade.

Now, the former Arizona State star is looking to play a winning role for the one-win Cardinals as he plays for his hometown team.

Heap has been limited in practice for the past two days.

"I'm taking it day to day right now," Heap told Arizona reporters. "I'm hoping I'll be ready."

Heap has caught 13 passes for 150 yards in four games with two starts.

He wasn't expecting to be cut by the Ravens prior to training camp, but quickly signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Cardinals.

"It's something that hit me out of left field," Heap said. "I didn't see it coming," Heap said. "This is one of the games I looked at and was definitely excited about."

Harbaugh said he has a lot of respect for Heap.

"I will be happy to see Todd," Harbaugh said. "I like Todd a lot. He is a great guy. I had three good years with him here. He is obviously a big part of the Ravens' tradition and an important part of the Ravens.

"But really, Sunday, to be honest with you, he is going to be a Cardinal. That's how I am looking at it, and that's how our team is looking at it."

During a conference call with Arizona reporters, Harbaugh expanded on his thoughts regarding Heap.

"Todd, I'm sure, was hoping to finish here," Harbaugh said. "He is so popular in the community. He's just such a good guy.

"I think it was probably hard for him. He just handled it with class and grace, just what you would have expected."

SMITH’S ROLE TO INCREASE: Rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith is expected to have his playing time increased after returning from a high left ankle sprain against the Jaguars.

He was limited to special teams work on the punt return team.

“It's about what the ankle permits and what the coaches allow me to do," Smith said. “I'm easing back into it. Of course it was fun to be out there and contribute some way and help the team out. Yeah, it gets better every week. The more and more I improve at practice, the more and more they're going to let me play.”

The Ravens are preparing Smith to contribute on defense against the Cardinals.

“Hopefully, the opportunity presents itself,” defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said. “We’d love to get him out there and get him back in the swing of things. We’ll see how the game goes, and again, it should be there, because they love to use multiple personnel groups and they’re going to be in three, four, five wide sets. So, there should be some opportunities to get him out there.”

PUNTER TRYOUT: The Ravens brought in left-footed punter Glenn Pakulak for a workout Thursday to help the Ravens' punt returners prepare for Cardinals lefty punter Dave Zastudil, the former Ravens punter.

QUICK HITS: In his first game action since injuring his shoulder, kick returner David Reed averaged 26.5 yards on two kickoff returns. The Ravens gave Reed his old job back after having Bryan McCann return punts against the Houston Texans. “We thought he was 100-percent healthy,” special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said. “We saw a really good week of practice. We saw him take some hits in practice. We were confident that if he took a hit in the game that the ball would still be in his hands at the end of the game.” … Despite the risks Ed Reed takes as a punt returner, including nearly muffing a punt back to the Jaguars before officials determined that he didn’t touch the football, Rosburg said he stands behind his decisions generally. “I have a lot of faith in Ed. Ed has demonstrated throughout his history, both in special teams and on defense, that he has some amazing ball skills, and he judges and analyzes football probably as good as anyone I’ve ever seen,” Rosburg said. “So when Ed thinks he can make a play, we’re all behind him. Obviously, ball security is primary, and he understands that. With that said, I mean that particular play was too close for comfort. But we have a lot of trust in Ed, and he’s earned that.” … Rosburg expressed confidence that Pro Bowl kicker Billy Cundiff will rebound after badly missing a 52-yard field goal against the Jaguars. “The thing that we’ve been reinforcing with Billy, and he’s probably his biggest critic as you can imagine, is that you need to be aggressive with the ball,” Rosburg said. “That’s what we worked on, and we’ve practiced it a lot, and we’re going to continue to practice it. We have a lot of confidence that the next opportunity he won’t be leaning it right, I can assure you.”