Baltimore Ravens' Jared Gaither may be close to heading to the injured reserve list
Baltimore Ravens right tackle Jared Gaither’s return to the practice field lasted all of one day. On Wednesday Gaither suited up to practice with the team for the first time since August
5. On Thursday Gaither reported that he once again had a sore back and did not suit up. The Ravens then decided to send the offensive lineman for a return visit to a back specialist.
Gaither met with Dr. Robert Watkins earlier in the season and the doctor reported that Gaither would be ready to return to practice by week three of the NFL season. On Saturday, Gaither
was headed to Los Angeles to visit the doctor again.
The original diagnosis on Gaither was a thoracic disk injury.
Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh had the following to say: “He went out there (Wednesday) and went through a very light practice, and the next day came in and his lower back was sore.
Our doctors have looked at it, and they don’t see it in there right now, so we’ve got to find out from the best experts what exactly is causing that problem.”
When asked his opinion on if the team would place Gaither on the injured reserve list, Harbaugh replied, “There’s…always a clock running on that because you’ve got to make decisions based
on injuries. I’d say that’s probably true with any injury that’s lingering. Obviously the clock’s ticking on something like that.”
If the Ravens decide to place Gaither on the injured reserve list he will be unable to play for the remainder of this season.
Gaither is under contract with the Ravens through the end of this season. During the off-season, the Ravens and Gaither were unable to agree on a contract extension. Gaither, who was rumoured
to be on the trading block eventually signed a one-year tender offer with the team worth $2.396 million.
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