The Baltimore Ravens suffered some terrible luck last season injury-wise, as they saw most of their starters go down at some point during the season. Breshad Perriman was one of those players, and he just so happened to be the Ravens 2015 first round draft pick.
Perriman partially tore the PCL in his right knee on the first day of training camp and was never the same. He would miss the entire season after coming close several times to returning during the year. He was finally placed on injured reserve on Nov. 17 and has been recovering ever since.
The Ravens could use Perriman on the field, especially after adding Mike Wallace during the 2016 free agent period. Perriman's coach for the three seasons that he spent at Central Florida, Sean Beckton, has really been the only one to get a deffinative answer about his condition.
"He came here last week and his spirits were high," Beckton said. "He said he was 100 percent and couldn't wait to get back out on the field with his teammates. He looked forward to working with his coaches and getting back out on the field with Joe Flacco. He'll be on the field when practice starts."
In 2015, the Ravens had quite possibly the worst string of injuries to hit an NFL team in history. Star wide receiver Steve Smith tore his Achilles, ending his season. While he is looking to return this season, it will be a long road to recovery. Starting running back Forsett broke his forearm, which put a dagger in any chance that the Ravens had of heading to the playoffs.
Franchise quarterback Joe Flacco tore both his MCL and ACL, forcing the Ravens to possibly consider selecting a quarterback in the near future, as it is anyone's guess to how Flacco will respond to such a devastating injury. Wide receivers Darren Waller and Michael Campanaro went down as well, which forced them all onto the injured reserve list.
Defensive captain Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles, which sidelined him for the rest of the year and also forced the Ravens to think about drafting for the future. The Ravens cannot afford to not have a youthful productive pass rusher if they hope to make the playoffs again.
A lot of these injuries were career shortening, and most of the veterans in the Ravens locker room are well passed their prime. Of course, the addition of Eric Weddle should aid this Baltimore pass rush, as teams may need to be more careful throwing the deep ball against the Ravens. However, this does not change the fact that this roster is getting older, not younger.
The Ravens will need to select the right players in the upcoming 2016 NFL draft if they hope for some quality depth on this roster. With Suggs and Elvis Dumervil only getting older, the Ravens could look to pick up a new dominant outside linebacker in the draft, and they should have plenty of options to choose from. With Myles Jack, Darron Lee, Leonard Floyd, and even Jaylon Smith improving their draft stock as of late, the franchise could look to one of these young prospects to lead this defensive unit into the future.
