WESTMINSTER, Md. (AP) -The Baltimore Ravens are built to make a run at the Super Bowl – if the key components remain in working order.
The Ravens added several key players during a hectic offseason, including wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Donte’ Stallworth, kicker Shayne Graham and second-round draft pick Terrence Cody, a 360-pound defensive tackle out of Alabama who agreed to terms on his first professional contract Monday.
But top draft pick Sergio Kindle, an outside linebacker from Texas, fell down a flight of stairs last week and sustained a head injury that will probably cause him to miss the entire camp.
“I think he has a fractured skull and a little bit of swelling,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “He’s not going to be able to travel for a few weeks at least, so we won’t be seeing him during training camp at all. From a football standpoint, we’ll move on with the guys we’ve got.
aring without Sergio. You’re putting your team together as if he’s not out there. … If at some point in time, if he can come back and play, that will be a great bonus for us. He’ll have a lot of catching up to do at that point.”
Rookies and selected veterans reported to camp Monday and will begin to practice Tuesday. The Ravens open the season against the New York Jets on Sept. 13.
“The overall mission for the team in training camp is to thicken our skin, get physical,” running back Ray Rice said. “Obviously we want to smart, stay healthy and prevent as many injuries as we can. The thing we know about our team is, when we’re healthy we’re a force to be reckoned with.”
Harbaugh said cornerbacks Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington, who underwent knee surgery last season, and safety Ed Reed, who had offseason hip surgery, will start camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP).
This is Harbaugh’s third season as Baltimore’s head coach. In each of his first two years, the Ravens advanced to the playoffs but fell short of reaching the Super Bowl. He will resume his quest to get on Tuesday.
lot of work to do between now and then.”
A year ago, the Ravens opened the season with Steve Hauschka at kicker. After he went 9 for 13 on field goal attempts and missed a conversion, he was cut. Baltimore then signed Billy Cundiff, who missed five of 17 field goal tries.
So during the offseason the Ravens signed Graham, who spent the previous seven years with the Cincinnati Bengals and will compete with Cundiff for the starting job.
Rice was Baltimore’s leading receiver last season, so general manager Ozzie Newsome added wideouts Boldin and Stallworth to make the passing game more of a threat.
“You can’t help but be excited to come into training camp,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve been like that the last two years, and maybe even more so this year (because) we probably addressed some positional situations that have not been able to win some games for us in critical situations in the playoffs.
“I think we looked at our team and said we need to get better here, and we’ve done that. But you know, you haven’t done it until you line up and play. That’s why we have to have a good training camp.”
Baltimore’s full squad will practice for the first time Friday. At that point, there will be 80 players competing for 53 jobs.
“Only 53 can make the team and only 45 can play. That’s the tough part,” Rice said. “You build relationships with guys and they become your friends, and it’s sad to see them go. But I know all 53 will be strong. That’s one thing I’m looking forward to. The 53 we keep around will be special players.”
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