Yesterday, I commented on a report that Torrey Smith would miss most of the preseason with an ankle injury and his week 1 status was in jeopardy. However, it appears that was much ado about nothing as Smith was already back practicing for the Ravens today. My original projection of him as a major fantasy sleeper and a great value at his current ADP in the 7th round still stands.

Torrey Smith was excellent as a rookie, catching 50 balls for 841 yards and 7 touchdowns and he was even better in his last 7 games, catching 27 balls for 416 yards and 3 touchdowns. Over 16 games, that’s 62 catches for 951 yards and 7 touchdowns. Keep in mind he played all of last season with a double sports hernia. Now that he’s a year older and Anquan Boldin is a year older on the wrong side of 30, Smith should continue to improve as a receiver and establish himself as Baltimore’s clear #1 receiver.

We could even see a Mike Wallace/Hines Ward type situation here. As a rookie, Wallace caught 39 passes for 756 yards and 6 touchdowns, while the veteran Ward caught 95 passes for 1167 yards and 6 touchdowns. However, in Wallace’s 2nd season, the tables turned and Wallace caught 60 passes for 1257 yards and 10 touchdowns, while an aging Ward caught 59 passes for 755 yards and 5 touchdowns. There’s definitely upside to be had with the speedy Smith in the mid rounds. This is also good news for Joe Flacco, who is already in danger of losing his top-2 tight ends for week 1, heading into a make or break contract year.

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The Ravens had two key members of their receiving corps go out with injuries in their first preseason game, as Ed Dickson left with a shoulder injury and Torrey Smith left with an ankle injury. Both are expected to miss most of the preseason and, while they are expected to be back for week 1, this will mean that Joe Flacco will be without 3 of his top-4 receivers for most of the Preseason as Dennis Pitta will also miss all of the preseason and possibly week 1 with a broken hand. The only one healthy currently is Anquan Boldin, who is heading into his age 32 season and has declined noticeably over the last 2 seasons.

This could hurt Joe Flacco’s timing with his receiving early in the season, which won’t help him bounce back from a season in which he had his career worst completion percentage, 57.6%, and YPA, 6.7 YPA, along with 20 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. There will be more pressure on the offense this year, with what should be an inferior defense (as compared to 2011) behind them, thanks to an injury to Terrell Suggs, the losses of Jarret Johnson and Cory Redding, and Ray Lewis and Ed Reed aging. The Ravens could have a down year this season.

As for Dickson and Smith, missing time could hurt their timing once the season starts. This is disappointing for Smith, who looked poised to have a breakout year, after catching 50 passes for 841 yards and 7 touchdowns last year, despite playing most of the season with a hernia, including 27 catches for 416 yards and 3 touchdowns in his final 7 seasons. In his first full offseason, Smith was impressing and looked like someone who could have a 1000 yard season in 2012. With this latest injury, expectations should be tempered slightly.

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QB Joe Flacco

This is a make or break season for Joe Flacco as he heads into a contract year. If he can prove himself to be more than just a game manager who is blessed with a strong supporting cast, the Ravens will have no problem franchise tagging him, even though the franchise tag value in 2012 was a whopping 16.1 million. If he can’t do that, they might see that amount as way too expensive for Flacco, even if it means risking losing him as a free agent. The two sides are currently trying to work on a contract before the season, which seems more likely than Flacco having a career year in his 5^th year in the league and earning a contract worth over 16 million yearly.

Likelihood: Somewhat likely

S Ed Reed

Ed Reed won’t be subject to the normal franchise tag value (6.2 million in 2012) because he’ll make 7.2 million this season so the franchise tag value will be 8.64 million for him in 2013. That’s a lot for a 34 year old, but the Ravens might not want him to escape and if they can’t get him signed to a team friendly long term deal, they might tag him and just go year to year with him since he’s such a valuable part of their defense.

Likelihood: Somewhat unlikely

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Bryant McKinnie has been a surprise no show for Ravens Training Camp, leading to some speculation that he could be retiring or be cut for not making weight. The Ravens wanted him at 345 pounds and held him out of mandatory minicamp last month to work on his conditioning. The Ravens have been fining him 30,000 daily, as is allowed, and reportedly have had no communication with him. Jason La Canfora also reported that McKinnie’s days in Baltimore appear to be numbered.

However, the latest report on the situation, from Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times, is that McKinnie will report on Monday. This is the same reporter who broke the story that the Ravens were not in communication with him. He also reported that McKinnie’s absence might have something to do with a legal issue and that the only communication the Ravens got from anyone close to McKinnie was from his chiropractor. It doesn’t sound like McKinnie reporting Monday would get him amnesty from being cut, however. We’ll know more in a few days. In the meantime, Michael Oher and Jah Reid have been working as the Ravens’ two tackles, leaving the Ravens very thin on the offensive line.

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Bryant McKinnie has missed the start of Raven’s Training Camp with what was only described by Head Coach Jim Harbaugh as an “issue.” This has led to speculation that McKinnie could be cut, speculation that NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora says is true. According to La Canfora, McKinnie’s days “appear quite numbered in Baltimore.” In the mean time, the Ravens are fining McKinnie 30 thousand every day he misses.

This is just the latest issue for McKinnie since the end of the lockout almost one calendar year ago. Once one of the league’s better offensive tackles, McKinnie showed up overweight for the Vikings out of the lockout and was promptly cut. He got himself back into decent shape and played alright at left tackle for the Ravens last year, but weight and durability issues reared their head again when McKinnie had to miss minicamp to work on his conditioning. After that, McKinnie was given an ultimatum by the Ravens coaching staff, who told him he’d be cut if he wasn’t at 345 pounds by Training Camp.

Now it’s Training Camp and McKinnie is not out there and, unlike minicamp, it doesn’t appear to be an excused absence as he’s being fined. The Ravens are operated right now as if Michael Oher, previously their right tackle, will be their left tackle and the inexperienced Jah Reid, a 2011 3^rd round pick, will be their right tackle. Oher has struggled thus far in his career at left tackle.

The Ravens have guard depth with Bobbie Williams and Kelechi Osemele, so they could also move right guard Marshal Yanda to right tackle, where he played in 2010. That would, however, mean the Ravens would be playing their best offensive lineman out of position and I don’t know that starting both the 36-year-old Williams and the inexperienced rookie Osemele at guard, with Yanda out of position at right tackle, is any better than just starting Reid at right tackle. Things are starting to look pretty bleak in front of Joe Flacco in Baltimore.

As for McKinnie, he could be cut in the next few days. Heading into his age 33 season, if he’s cut, he might have a very tough time finding a new team. Being cut by two teams in a twelve month span for weight related issues hardly puts a “sign me” label on a player, even one who is a former Pro-Bowler (2009). Don’t be surprised at all if McKinnie has played his last snap in the NFL.

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Eric Steinbach was cut by the Browns earlier this offseason and has since received little to no interest on the open market, unsurprising for a 32 year old coming off of back surgery that cost him his entire 2011 season. Steinbach was a solid starter before his injury, however, and the Ravens will bring him in for a personal workout on Tuesday.

Steinbach would presumably compete with veteran Bobbie Williams and 2^nd round pick Kelechi Osemele for the starting job and would be no lock to make the final roster, even if signed. Williams is currently working as the starter after signing a 2 year deal earlier this offseason. He’s in a similar situation as Steinbach, heading into his age 36 season after missing 7 games last year with a broken leg. Also like Steinbach, Williams was a long time starter for a division rival, with Williams coming from Cincinnati. The report, from NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora, also mentions several “other AFC teams” are interested.

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Though it didn’t originally look like it, multiple sources are reporting that a deal between Joe Flacco and the Ravens could be close. NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah puts the odds at 75%, while ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said that the Ravens are “optimistic” about getting a deal done with Flacco ahead of Training Camp. Meanwhile, Flacco himself expressed confidence about the situation.

If this is, in fact, the case, one side must have budged as originally the situation was that Flacco wanted top-5 quarterback money and the Ravens wanted no part of giving him that money. More likely, it’s Flacco who changed his stance, because he’s not worth that kind of money. He is, however, worth at least what Matt Cassel, Kevin Kolb, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Alex Smith are making, which is in the 9-10 million dollar per year range.

If he’s still unsigned next offseason, the Ravens will almost definitely franchise tag him, unless he regresses majorly this season. The Ravens have to be hoping to avoid that because the franchise tag value will be upwards of 16 million dollars and Flacco is not worth that. Signing him now would also free up the franchise tag for use on Ed Reed, if they choose to do so. Expect them to push hard to sign Flacco before the season, in the neighborhood of 10-12 million per year over 4-5 years.

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After an offseason of “will he, won’t he” in regards of Ed Reed’s desire to play in 2012, Reed has confirmed what many, including teammate Ray Lewis, have believed all along, the Reed will play football this season. 2012 will be Reed’s 11^th NFL season, all with the Ravens. Reed, who skipped minicamp, was seen at the Ravens facility this week and is expected to be there for Training Camp.

It’s definitely possible that his “retirement threat” was contract related, as he enters a contract year. Reed will make 7.2 million this season, but wants some job security into 2013 and beyond. He reportedly rejected a multiyear extension during the season last year because it paid him less annually than Eric Weddle and Michael Huff (both of whom are making 8 million per). As he’ll be in his age 35 season in 2013, the Ravens could let him test the open market and won’t overpay for his past performance. Of course, he could also choose to retire next offseason.

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In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Ravens’ unsigned franchise player Ray Rice says he’s “optimistic” about getting a new deal from the Ravens ahead of Monday’s 4 PM ET deadline. While Rice may be “optimistic,” NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora is not so much. La Canfora reported earlier this week that talks were in a “stalemate,” while a report from the Carroll County Times seconded that and said that no deal was “imminent.”

Things could have changed in the few days since, but Rice has been asking all along for about 10 million per year, which would make him the 2^nd highest paid running back in the league behind Adrian Peterson, while the Ravens have been insisting on paying him in the 8-9 million dollar range that backs like LeSean McCoy, Arian Foster, and Chris Johnson are paid in. It’s possible one side will cave before the deadline (if it’s either, I think it would have to be Rice), but all signs are pointing to Rice having to play out the season on his 7.7 million dollar tender. The Ravens could even franchise Rice again next offseason without having to pay him the 10 million per year he wants.

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