Flacco braces for first practice since injury
OL Long needs to pass physical; Wallace not ready
The scar from surgery is still visible just below the left leg of Joe Flacco’s workout shorts. What is also obvious is the mental residue the Ravens quarterback still carries going into the start of training camp.
A little more than eight months after being helped off the field at M&T Bank Stadium after suffering the first significant injury of his NFL career — a torn ACL and MCL — Flacco will step back onto the practice field today for the first time when the team opens camp in Owings Mills.
Asked whether the toughest part of his comeback would be physical or mental, Flacco, 31, was as decisive as coach John Harbaugh hopes the eight-year veteran will be when the team opens the 2016 season Sept. 11 at home against the Buffalo Bills.
“I think it’ll be mentally,” Flacco told reporters. “I haven’t played since November, I haven’t really played football. I haven’t gotten any offseason reps. I think the biggest thing will be getting out there and getting my vision back and slowing things down at a good pace that I want them to be at.
“I’m sure when I get out there the first time, I’m going to be excited and therefore things will probably be moving a little faster than normal just because of that. I expect it to calm down quickly.”
Still, since Flacco’s injury occurred when
Watch it
Go to baltimoresun.com /ravens for video of Joe Flacco, Terrell Suggs and Justin Forsett he got hit during a 16-13 win over the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 22, he will have to see how the knee responds the first time he gets hit in a game this season.
“I haven’t had to deal with people being around me while I’m stepping and throwing,” said Flacco, who plans to wear a protective brace in practice and in games throughout the season. “I assume that might take a little bit of an adjustment, but I’m not too worried about it, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Flacco was unsure how much he will play in the four preseason games, beginning with a home game against the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 11.
“The goal is to make sure I’m as healthy as possible regular-season Game 1,” Flacco said. “I haven’t talked directly to John about it, but I talked to the doctors a little bit. I’m not ridiculously worried about playing a ton in the preseason….To put it [at] any further risk of getting hit in a preseason game probably wouldn’t be the smartest thing.” Long visits doctor: Former Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jake Long, who agreed to terms for a one-year deal with the Ravens on Tuesday, reported to training camp Wednesday but will not be on the practice field until he passes a physical.
Harbaugh told reporters Long is going to Quarterback Joe Flacco told reporters Wednesday that he thought the toughest part of his comeback would be mental. visit prominent orthopedic surgeon James Andrews to check out the ACL in his right knee, which he tore in 2013 and in 2014.
Long, the No. 1 overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2008, played only four games last season, with the Atlanta Falcons. He was signed as insurance after the Ravens cut Eugene Monroe, who subsequently retired.
Flacco was certainly encouraged by the signing of Long, whocould wind up backing up first-round draft pick Ronnie Stanley and possibly give the Ravens depth at guard.
“I think anytime you can add veteran linemen, especially one of his caliber, it helps out the team,” Flacco said. “Do we know exactly what that’s going to be, what that role is going to be yet? Probably not. I think depth at that position, especially veteran guys that have done it and have Wallace not ready: While Terrell Suggs and four other players will start training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list, one of the team’s high-profile free-agent acquisitions also might not be on the field.
Harbaugh acknowledged Wednesday that Mike Wallace did not pass the team’s conditioning test, which he’ll need to do before he’s permitted to practice with the team.
Wallace took the test early Wednesday and Harbaugh said he hit five of six benchmarks but was could not to make the final one.
Wallace could get another opportunity to pass the test today. The Ravens will have their first practice at 9 a.m. He’ll be on the nonfootball injury list until he passes.
The Ravens are known to have one of the more difficult conditioning tests in the league. In the past, several veterans, including Haloti Ngata, Jacoby Jones and Lardarius Webb, have failed the test.
The Ravens signed Wallace to a two-year, $11.5 million contract in March. The soonto-be 30-year-old wide receiver had just 39 catches for 473 yards and two touchdowns with the Minnesota Vikings last season. End zone: The Ravens will practice in pads for the first time Saturday. … Injured free-agent linebacker Cavellis Luckett and veteran defensive back Jumal Rolle, who tore his Achilles in offseason workouts, were waived Tuesday. In their place, the Ravens signed wide receiver Dobson Collins, who played the past five years in the Canadian Football League, and linebacker Kavell Conner, whose five-year NFL career has been split between the San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts.