Terrell Suggs Tears Achilles

Added on May 03, 2012 by Scott in

NFL

For the second time in recent months, a prominent NFL player has suffered a torn Achilles tendon while participating in private offseason workouts. On March 28th, Eagles All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters went down and is expected to miss the entire 2012 season. And this past weekend, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs came up lame after performing a “stop-and-go” drill.

The initial diagnoses was a partial tear, which led Suggs to tweet that he plans to return by midseason. Of course, he’s not a doctor. Achilles injuries normally come with a year-long recovery timetable, no matter the severity. Strange things can happen, but Suggs’ optimism about returning at some point during the upcoming campaign should be classified as wishful thinking.

Suggs, who is the defending Defensive Player of the Year, notched 14 sacks in 2011 and has amassed 82.5 total in nine seasons. Without him, the Ravens are left with few proven pass-rushers. Second-year end Pernell McPhee recorded 6 sacks as a rookie, but Paul Kruger has only 6.5 sacks in three seasons, and Sergio Kindle is an unknown commodity after battling injuries for the last two years.

Baltimore did select Alabama outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw in last weekend’s draft, although counting on a rookie to step into Suggs’ massive shoes is asking a lot, despite the obvious talent. Toss in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed’s advancing age, and the latter’s tenuous contract situation, and the Ravens could be left scrambling a bit on the defensive side of the ball.

On the bright side, Haloti Ngata and Terrance Cody are as good as it gets as far as defensive tackles in a 3-4 scheme are concerned. Plus, a youth-infused secondary led by cornerbacks Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith is one of the strongest in the league, finishing fourth against the pass in 2011.

The silver lining, if there is one, is Baltimore has time to fill the void left by Suggs’ absence. Free agent pass rushers like Andre Carter and James Hall are still on the market, and final cuts in September may shake free a player or two of note.

Source: NFL.com