The Ravens lost one player who was set to be in the mix to help them replace Dannell Ellerbe and Ray Lewis at inside linebacker when Rolando McClain retired and now they’ll have to go without another prospective replacement for the next few weeks.
Coach John Harbaugh announced Wednesday that linebacker Arthur Brown, a second-round pick out of Kansas State last month, had sports hernia surgery a couple of weeks ago. There’s generally a four-to-six week recovery period following operations of that type, which likely means that we’ve seen the last of Brown on the field until the Super Bowl champs open up training camp.
Brown, the 2012 Big 12 defensive player of the year, is still a likely bet to be in the starting lineup once the season gets underway. Jameel McClain, who is still recovering from a spinal cord contusion suffered last season, is pencilled into one starting spot while Brown’s competition -- Albert McClellan, Josh Bynes and Bryan Hall -- offers less upside for the defense than Brown.
McClain and Brown aren’t the only Ravens defenders limited or sidelined by injuries at this point in the offseason. Linebacker Terrell Suggs, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and cornerback Lardarius Webb highlight the list of players with varying levels of concern over injuries carried over from 2012 which should mean plenty of reps in OTAs and minicamp for players further down the depth chart.