The recovery of Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith from a torn Achilles will be an offseason storyline of some importance in Baltimore and the veteran said Monday that he wouldn’t take part in training camp practices in a perfect world.
You read that right, although the reason has nothing to do with the Achilles. Smith wants to be fully recovered by the time the Ravens gather for camp this summer, he’d just prefer not to overexert himself before his 16th NFL season.
“In my little world, I would love to be 100 percent and absolutely do nothing in training camp,” Smith said, via ESPN.com. “That would be perfect. I’m not sure how that will flow with [coach John] Harbaugh.”
Kidding aside, Smith does plan to be on the field when things count for the Ravens in 2016. He hasn’t attempted to run yet, but is walking without much of a limp and said Monday that he expects to be ready to go at the start of the season.
“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine,” Smith said. “No setbacks. No real pain where you’d say, ‘Oh, that’s a concern.’ Just all good stuff to start and move forward.”
Smith’s recovery won’t be the only one they’re watching closely in Baltimore. Quarterback Joe Flacco, linebacker Terrell Suggs and wide receiver Breshad Perriman are three of the 19 other Ravens that ended last season on injured reserve.
