OWINGS MILLS – Former Pro Bowl offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie passed his physical and signed his two-year, $7.5 million maximum value contract, officially joining the Baltimore Ravens.
He received a $1 million signing bonus.
"Yes, I passed my physical," McKinnie wrote on his Twitter account.
Now, his arrival is expected to trigger a line shuffle with McKinnie taking over at left tackle and Michael Oher going back to right tackle where he played well as a rookie.
"I’m going to play left and they’ll slide Oher over to the right," McKinnie said in a radio interview. "Yes, that’s what’ll take place."
McKinnie, 31, is not slated to play tonight against the Washington Redskins because he has yet to practice with the Ravens.
McKinnie reported to the Minnesota Vikings’ training camp at nearly 400 pounds, weighing in at roughly 387 pounds.
He had weight clauses in all of his contracts with the Vikings since being drafted in the first round out of the University of Miami. He had a $250,000 workout bonus included in his Vikings contract before he was released.
The Ravens are listing him at 6-foot-8, 345 pounds, but he’s believed to be at least 10 to 20 pounds heavier than that.
McKinnie acknowledged that he did show up heavier than usual for camp and said he has a cholesterol problem that is being addressed through medication.
"Honestly we never took any conditioning tests [in Minnesota this year]," McKinnie said. "The two days I was there, we had two walkthroughs, so I wasn’t really able to do anything. I never participated in any conditioning tests.
"So, there was never nothing to kind of determine where my conditioning was. I did come in heavy, heavier than I usually am. I was still training, and I knew where my level was."
McKinnie said another reason he was released was his contract.
"Minnesota, it was honestly more of a numbers game about having their salary cap at a certain point by that Thursday, which wasn’t really mentioned that much," McKinnie said.
There was no more remaining proration from McKinnie’s $13.5 million signing bonus received five years ago.
However, there was a $500,000 roster bonus contained in his Vikings deal as well as a scheduled $4.9 million base salary.
Why did McKinnie sign with Baltimore?
"They have a great chance of making it to the playoffs, and then hopefully the Super Bowl," McKinnie said.
The Ravens are the only NFL team to win a playoff game in each of the past three seasons.
They have lost in the AFC divisional round for two years in a row after making it to the AFC championship game three seasons ago.
NOTE: The Ravens cut kicker-punter Jake Harfman to create a roster spot for McKinnie.
Aaron Wilson covers the Baltimore Ravens for the Carroll County Times.
