Ravens safety Matt Elam will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a chip in his knee, as ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley tweets. It’s not a season-ending injury but will sideline him “a number of weeks into early part of the season,” coach John Harbaugh told reporters. 
[RELATED: Breshad Perriman Off Of PUP List]
The Ravens will have to decide whether to carry Elam on the 53-man roster, cut him, or place him on IR-designated to return. With Eric Weddle, Lardarius Webb, Kendrick Lewis, and Terrence Brooks at safety, Baltimore should be able to get by just fine for however long he’s out. In fact, Elam’s spot on the 53-man roster wasn’t necessarily a lock anyway. With solid play in recent weeks, Brooks arguably leapfrogged Elam on merit.
The Ravens declined Elam’s fifth-year option for 2017 earlier this offseason. Elam, 25 in September, started 26 regular season contests at safety for the Ravens during his first two NFL seasons. Releasing Elam would save Baltimore $1.33MM.
In other Ravens news, tight end Dennis Pitta has a fractured finger and will be kept off the field for now to avoid additional damage. Pitta has been looking to make his way back from a second major hip fracture but he is now being held back by a new injury. The injury came as a result of a fight, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
When will pitta learn
He’s an idiot. Shouldn’t be making a comeback at all. One more hip injury, which doctors say he is now more prone to given he’s already dealt with it, and he may never walk again.
He should have taken an injury settlement and retired.