Terrell Suggs injury: Ravens LB could return in Week 7

Surely, the normal timetable for this kind of injury would put Suggs back in mid-November, so it’s pretty remarkable to think he could return on Sunday. As it stands, Suggs returned to practice Wednesday and is expected to be evaluated on Thursday, giving the All-Pro linebacker some time to see how he feels 24 hours after his first practice since April.

The Ravens aren’t doing poorly without Suggs, with a 5-1 record and a firm lead in the AFC North, but this matchup against the Texans -- who are also 5-1 -- is a big one. Having Suggs back and playing at or near full strength would be nothing but a positive for Baltimore, provided it doesn’t end in a setback.

It’s yet to be determined when Suggs will be ready to get into a game, with no set timetable on his return.

Suggs was a key reason the team was able to make it all the way to the AFC Championship game last year. The Arizona State product had the best campaign of his nine-year career, registering 14 sacks en route to NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Suggs partially tore his Achilles tendon in April and has not played or practiced since. Thanks to a change in rules regarding the Physically Unable to Perform list, the team was allowed to start Suggs on that list and activate him after six weeks. CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reports that the Ravens will do so either Tuesday or Wednesday, but that they will be cautious and his return to the practice field will be limited. It’s unclear when Suggs will be able to play.

Suggs has been out all year with a torn Achilles, but has said all along that he would return sooner rather than later. The Arizona State product was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list before the year started, but is now eligible to come off since Week 6 is in the books.

Along with nine cuts made Sunday afternoon, the Ravens still needed to trim six spots, which they did by adding four players to the injured reserve list -- meaning they can’t play in 2012 -- and Suggs and Reed to the PUP list.

Suggs is out indefinitely with a partially torn Achilles tendon, but hopes to return to the team sometime this year, although the timetable for that return is unclear. The linebacker and five-time Pro Bowler hasn’t participated in any part of training camp, leaving one of the league’s premier defensive units without one of its key players. If and when he is removed from the list, Baltimore will have to cut another player.

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On Thursday, Suggs once again proclaimed he would be back in uniform this year.

The Ravens reportedly aren’t counting on him to play. He suffered the injury at the end of April and the Ravens season starts in September. We’ll see what the Ravens think about his status for the 2012 season when they need his roster spot. If they continue to hold an open spot for him on the active roster come the regular season, then we’ll know they believe he has a legitimate shot at returning.

Via Carroll County Times:

Suggs says the injury came during a conditioning test. Technically the Ravens could have pursued a portion of his contract if he suffered a non-football injury, but Bisciotti confirmed that they wont. His level-headed response makes sense considering a number of other Ravens players play basketball in the offseason, sometimes even for charity.

And now ESPN has circled back around on the report that the injury came during a basketball game. Adam Schefter has a number of sources who report seeing Suggs go down during a basketball game on the weekend of the NFL Draft in April.

While the report sure makes it seem like Suggs isn’t telling the truth, the reality is that it likely doesn’t matter. Whether Suggs hurt his Achilles playing basketball or in a conditioning test, it came away from the facility -- a “non-football injury” -- which means the Ravens have the right to go after a portion of Suggs’ contract.

The Baltimore Ravens are hopeful that they can get last year’s Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs back before the end of the season. According to a Thursday report from Don Banks at SI.com, the Ravens believe that they could have the linebacker back in the lineup late in the season, playing a smaller role as a pass rushing specialist.

Baltimore’s assessment differs slightly from Suggs’ own evaluation. Suggs believes that he can return sometime in the middle of the season, October even, at full speed and back in his usual role. Recovery time for an Achilles tear such as the one suffered by Suggs is pegged at anywhere from 4-6 months.

Suggs tells the Baltimore Sun that it was only a partial tear, which makes his return to the field in 2012 more realistic.

This is much better than the previous thinking that Suggs had a complete tear, which would have likely kept him out the entire season. Suggs can now have a shot at starting the season on the PUP list, which would keep him out of the first six games of the season.

The Ravens didn’t reveal whether Suggs suffered a full or partial tear of his Achilles tendon, nor did they release an official timetable for his recovery. The linebacker previously predicted he’d be back on the field by early November.

Suggs, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is coming off a career season, recording 14 sacks, 70 tackles and seven forced fumbles. He injured himself the weekend of the NFL Draft during a conditioning workout.

Suggs maintained his optimistic time table for returning to the field. He told Wilson in the same conversation that he hoped to be back by the “middle to end” of October or early November at the latest. That will depend entirely on the severity of the injury and his rehabilitation schedule.

The league’s incumbent defensive player of the year fired back at suggestions that he could miss the entire season.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter initially reported the injury came during a game of basketball, but now says it could also have come during a conditioning test.

Suggs, according to Schefter, believes he can come back by October. That would put his recovery time around six months or so. Most Achilles’ injuries take nine to 12 months to recover from, so October would be an optimistic outlook on the recovery time.