2001 w/ Grinding in Front Driveline

I'm working on a friend's 2001 Escape that has a grinding noise coming from the right front while driving. I removed the wheels and raised the vehicle off of the ground, started it, put it in drive and crawled underneath. The noise is not coming from the brakes or wheel bearings and appears to be more in-board. It doesn't seem like the transmission. I noticed what appeared to be a carrier bearing on the right-front axle shaft. Could this be the culprit? Has anyone experienced this before?

Thanks!
-rob