Ravens defensive end Brent Urban tore his biceps during Thursday’s practice, and Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that the 2014 draft pick could miss the entire season.
The former fourth-rounder was injured on what Zrebiec described as a “minimal contact drill.” The reporter notes that it takes about 12 weeks to recover from that type of bicep injury, which presents the Ravens with an interesting choice.
The team could opt to put the 24-year-old on the season-ending injured reserve, or they could choose to place him on the injured reserve with a designation to return. The latter option would mean he’d have to miss at least the first eight weeks of the 2015 season.
Each team can only place on player on the injured reserve with a designation to return, and the Ravens may be forced to choose between Urban and recently -injured safety Matt Elam. Initial reports suggested that the defensive back would be placed on the season-ending IR, but Zrebiec wonders if the team could ultimately slap him with the designation to return.
A knee injury during training camp forced Urban to miss all of last season, and the defensive end had reportedly made a lot of progress in his recovery. The writer notes that Urban was expected to play a prominent role on the defensive line, serving as a backup to Chris Canty and Lawrence Guy.
Tough break for Urban. Good length, good speed off the edge, but it looks like he just doesn’t have the body for the NFL. Back-to-back impressive starts to training camp, and back-to-back (possible) season-ending injuries. Even with the loss of Ngata, the DL was shaping up to be a strength, but this will really test the depth of that unit.