Baltimore Ravens reserve offensive lineman David Hale had a scary experience on the practice field Monday morning, spending several minutes on the ground before being carted off the field.
Hale got hurt during a huge collision with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata.
Hale has been battling back problems throughout training camp, telling 24×7 last week that his back was tight.
With coach John Harbaugh and teammates looking on, Hale was down for roughly 10 minutes before being helped off the field with assistance from trainers. The injury occurred during a one-on-one pass rushing drill.
“He’s been banged-up a little bit, some back spasms and stuff,” offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said. “I was not over to that drill.”
A fourth-round draft pick out of Weber State in 2008, Hale played in a dozen games last season.
The team didn’t make a formal announcement on Hale’s status, but his agent indicated that he was going to get thoroughly checked out.
The Ravens are already shorthanded on the offensive line.
During Monday’s practice, center Matt Birk (elbow), guard-center Daniel Sanders (shoulder), offensive tackle Stefan Rodgers (shoulder) and offensive tackle Jared Gaither (back) all didn’t practice due to injuries.
Ngata was in pain, too, after his run-in with Hale, clinching his hand, wrist and arm afterward. The pain seemed to eventually subside, but Ngata didn’t take part in any other drills.
Ngata declined an interview request afterward, saying he needed to go lift weights.
“We definitely need everybody,” offensive guard Ben Grubbs said. “We need all of our guys and we just try to work hard and stay healthy. We need to keep David in our prayers.”
