A little more than a month ago, Ravens coach John Harbaugh praised Bryant McKinnie’s conditioning and said that presumptive left tackle on Baltimore’s offensive line was in his best shape in years.
McKinnie agreed with that assessment, but something happened between June and McKinnie’s arrival at training camp. And that something was the expansion of McKinnie’s waistline.
Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reports that coach John Harbaugh said that McKinnie “is too heavy right now” and the team didn’t feel comfortable having him out on the practice field.
“I’m not sure who’s more disappointed Bryant or I,” Harbaugh said. “There’s an issue but we’re going to get it fixed.”
Harbaugh might be disappointed, but he can’t be too surprised even if McKinnie was in better shape last month. It’s not the first time that conditioning has been a problem for McKinnie. He struggled to pass the team’s conditioning test when he arrived at camp last year and he’s had a problem keeping his weight down dating back to his days with the Vikings.
There’s no word on when the Ravens think McKinnie might be svelte enough to get on the field, but they surely prefer sooner rather than later after watching McKinnie’s work in the postseason last year.