Courtney Upshaw’s rookie training camp got off to a rough start, but he’s already having a better time.
Upshaw was placed on the Ravens non-football injury list after initially failing his conditioning test and missed a walk-through before passing it on his second attempt, according to Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times.
Now cleared, Upshaw can get to work trying to improve a Ravens defense that is wondering how to replace some productive players.
He’s slated to start at strongside outside linebacker, replacing Jarrett Johnson (who signed with the Chargers as a free agent). But they could use him to add something to the pass rush, while they wait to see how long Terrell Suggs will be out with his torn Achilles.
Upshaw had 9.5 sacks last year at Alabama, and while expecting him to replace Suggs’ numbers (14.0 sacks last year) would be unfair, he can make a difference. As long as he’s in shape, that is.