OWINGS MILLS — Less than a day after suffering a bruised left shoulder during the Baltimore Ravens’ preseason finale Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons, rookie quarterback Tyrod Taylor expressed confidence that he’ll be ready for the season-opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Taylor’s left, non-throwing arm remains in a sling, and he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam Friday. Tests haven’t revealed any structural damage such as a fracture or separation, and it’s believed to be only a soft-tissue injury.
“I think I’ll be ready, especially with the couple of days that we have off,” Taylor said “That allows me to go get treatment and take care of my body. So, I’m looking forward to getting back and getting healthy and starting out the week well.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh reiterated that he doesn’t believe it’s serious.
"No, it just looks the same," Harbaugh said. "I would say it just confirms that it doesn’t seem to be a real serious thing. I’m sure he’s got some soreness in there. I think he’s going to be OK."
Taylor said the pain is subsiding a bit after being blasted to the Georgia Dome turf by Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann when offensive tackle Ramon Harewood missed his block.
And Taylor emphasized that he has his normal range of motion.
"It feels the same or a little bit less," Taylor said. "It’s more so just sore. The pain should go away. It’s soreness. The range of motion is pretty good. It’s just sore right now."
Taylor added that he doesn’t think it’s necessary for the Ravens to go out and sign a veteran backup.
"I don’t think it is," Taylor said. "It’s still the coaches’ decision, but I think I’ve done every thing I could this preseason to show them that I can be that backup guy. I’m going to continue to be hard worker and I’m going to try to win over my teammates."
A sixth-round draft pick from Virginia Tech and a former Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Taylor was supposed to solidify his status as the backup to Joe Flacco.
Instead his start against the Falcons turned into a nightmare as he completed 2 of 3 passes for 16 yards and an interception before leaving the game with the shoulder injury.
“It was frustrating, because I knew that I was going to get a lot of playing time that game, and it was a chance for me to go out and impress and improve my game,” Taylor said.“So, it was frustrating at the time. As far as how serious the injury was after they did the testing, I passed everything. I knew it was just a matter of time before I could just get it back healthy.”
Taylor is just grateful that he didn’t hurt his throwing arm.
"I can still go through my throwing motion and still stay loose," Taylor said. "Yes, I think it’s a good thing that it is my off-shoulder.”
The Ravens are waiting to see what quarterbacks become available, including Sage Rosenfels. Other options include Jake Delhomme, J.P. Losman, Todd Bouman and Brodie Croyle, who was cut Friday by the Arizona Cardinals.
The Ravens have also reached out to former backup Marc Bulger about whether he wants to come out of retirement. The former Pro Bowl quarterback’s stance at this time is that he’s not interested unless it becomes an emergency situation if Flacco was sidelined with a significant injury.
"It’s like I’ve been saying all along, it’s going to depend on who’s out there," Harbaugh said. "That’s what affects the decision more than anything."
In four preseason games, Taylor has passed for 408 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. He has completed 61.7 percent of his throws.
Now, he’s hoping to return to practice as soon as Wednesday in advance of Sunday’s home game at M&T Bank Stadium.
"Yeah, that would be great," Taylor said. "I’ll continue to do all the treatment possible. I won’t be going anywhere. I’ll be in town."
