OWINGS MILLS -Mark Clayton got an apologetic phone call from Antrel Rolle after suffering a concussion on an illegal hit from the New York Giants safety during the Baltimore Ravens’ preseason victory Saturday night.
Rolle spoke with Clayton on Sunday after being flagged for a personal foul where he was penalized for hitting a defenseless receiver, one of NFL officials’ renewed points of emphasis.
Rolle could be fined by the league office, which Clayton isn’t in favor of.
"That’s just football," Clayton said. "Things like that happen. I’m fine."
Rolle told Clayton that the collision took a toll on him, too.
"He said, ‘Man, I kind of knocked myself out a little bit,’" Clayton said. "He asked if I was OK, and I asked if he was OK."
Other than a stiff neck, Clayton said his symptoms are subsiding.
He’s not expected to play in Thursday night’s preseason finale against the St. Louis Rams.
Right now, Clayton said it’s difficult for him to turn his head around to catch passes.
The ferocity of the hit surprised Clayton.
"I was just talking to myself, I was saying, ‘Man, I can’t believe he hit me like that,’ because I saw him coming," Clayton said. "I was like, ‘Dang, he’s fittin’ to hit me,’ and then I was like, ‘Dang, he hit me.’ After that, I was like, ‘Yeah, take your time getting up because when you get up, there’ll be a rush to the head."
Clayton doesn’t expect this to be a long-term injury.
"No, not at all," he said. "It’s good."
MCGAHEE NOT WORRIED: As the subject of trade rumors after not playing against New York, former Pro Bowl running back Willis McGahee said he hasn’t heard anything new about his status.
"I don’t know what’s going on," McGahee said. "Nobody has told me nothing. I don’t know anything. I’m in the dark just like you. If you know something, you can tell me. I don’t know anything."
McGahee was informed by running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery before the Ravens played the Giants that he was unlikely to play.
Team officials said it wasn’t because the team was protecting McGahee from injury in case they trade him. They emphasized that they were simply evaluating other players.
The Ravens could use some more depth at cornerback. However, trading McGahee would weaken the depth in the backfield.
"You can’t look into everything because I was supposed to get traded last year," McGahee said. "I go with the flow. You can’t worry about it. If it is, it’s a business."
Would he be surprised to be traded?
"Would I be surprised if I got traded?" McGahee said. "I’ve learned that you can’t really depend on certain situations. Anything can happen. If they do, they do. I’m not going to sit around and cry about it. I’m going to keep going."
McGahee is slated for a reserve role behind Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice.
"I’m a postseason guy," McGahee said. "Playoff time, you know what time it is. Mr. January, hopefully Mr. February. We all know I’m crushing in January."
ROSTER MOVES: The Ravens cut cornerback Doug Dutch, who was acquired earlier this preseason from the Washington Redskins via a trade in exchange for quarterback John Beck.
And they placed center Daniel Sanders (shoulder) and safety Marcus Paschal (quadriceps) on injured reserve.
Down to 77 players, they need to cut two more players to get down to the league roster limit of 75 players by today’s NFL deadline.
INJURY UPDATES: Cornerback Fabian Washington didn’t practice Monday due to bruised ribs.
"Fabian’s got a little bruise on his ribs and we felt like we just need to rest that a little bit," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
Washington said he doesn’t expect it to be a long-term injury where it would sideline him for the first game.
As a starter, he’s not expected to play against the Rams.
"I’m expecting this thing to be something short and move past it," said Washington, who injured his ribs against the Giants.
Demetrius Williams returned to practice on a limited basis from his sprained right ankle, taking part in individual drills.
His status for Thursday is up in the air.
"I’d like to play Thursday," he said. "I’ll listen to the trainers, whatever they want me to do. I’ll try my best to be on the field. It’s nothing serious."
Also returning to practice: wide receiver Eron Riley (strained lower back) and cornerback K.J. Gerard (hamstring).
The following players didn’t practice: fullback Mike McLaughlin (hip flexor), Clayton, wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth (broken foot), defensive tackle Terrence Cody (swollen left knee), offensive tackles Oniel Cousins (concussion) and Jared Gaither (upper back disc) and center-guard David Hale (bruised tailbone).
Cousins said his symptoms are improving even though he’s still dealing with headaches.
He’s considered unlikely to play Thursday since he’s not up to practicing yet. He took part in individual drills this week.
He’s no longer wearing sunglasses and ear plugs as he did last week due to sensitivity to light and loud noises.
"Overall, I’m feeling better," Cousins said. "I went out there a little bit and moved around to see how I feel. I didn’t feel too bad. I’ve still got a little headache. I’m getting better every day."
Cousins said he has resumed jogging and is able to lift weights and ride a stationary bike.
"Mentally, I’m into it 110 percent," he said. "Physically, I always try to stay in it, whatever I can do. I always do enough or even extra as far as what I can tolerate just to make sure that I’m up to par."
Tony Moll has been starting at right tackle with Cousins and Gaither out. The Ravens would like Cousins to play Thursday.
Cousins has to pass the baseline neurological tests before he’ll be allowed to resume playing.
"I’m really hopeful for Oniel," Harbaugh said. "That’s a game that he really needs to play. He’s just missed so much. He’s got a chance to be such a good player. So, we’re hoping he can get out there. I think he’s got a good chance."
STALLWORTH HAS SURGERY: Stallworth had foot surgery Monday and proclaimed it a success.
Stallworth had a screw inserted to aid the healing process.
"The surgery was successful, thank you all for your prayers," Stallworth wrote on his Twitter account. "Love you much… Now back on the grind, I’ll be back SOON!!"
Stallworth is expected to return in eight weeks.
Harbaugh said that Stallworth got hurt running a pass pattern, not returning punts.
"Obviously, Donte’ is going to be out for a number of weeks," Harbaugh said. "He will be back, so he will be on our team. We’ll get him back, and he’ll have a great year when he gets back, I’m sure."
KINDLE UPDATE: Injured rookie outside linebacker Sergio Kindle is expected to visit a local Baltimore hospital as soon as Sept. 5 to undergo neurological exams.
The unsigned second-round draft pick fractured his skull when he fell down two flights of stairs in late July. Under NFL rules because Kindle isn’t signed to a contract while the Ravens await a detailed medical prognosis, he’s not allowed to meet with team officials.
"He will not be coming to the facility," Harbaugh said. "He’ll be going right to the hospital, spend whatever time he’s got to spend there to be evaluated."
QUICK HITS: After getting stiff-armed by Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw in the open field, strong safety Dawan Landry acknowledged that tackling needs to improve. "There’s definitely some things to sharpen up," Landry said. "We can’t miss tackles. We missed a couple. I think our technique needs to be better. It left a bad taste in our mouth. We wanted to come out and play better. The Giants have a good offensive line and running backs coming downhill, so they should be right up there with the best running games." … Cornerback Lardarius Webb isn’t expected to play against the Rams, according to Harbaugh. Webb has been activated from the physically unable to perform list after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last season. "I don’t anticipate him playing in this game," Harbaugh said. "We don’t want to risk a setback."
