The Ravens are relying on the healthy return of some key players as they begin preparations for the 2016 season.
Center Jeremy Zuttah is one of those players, though one who is often overlooked when talking about the team being bit by the injury bug in 2015.
After suffering a strained pectoral in Week 8 vs. the Chargers, Zuttah went on to play the following week against Jacksonville, ultimately suffering further damage to the muscle, which resulted in his landing on injured reserve in November.
“I’m on my way,” said Zuttah on Monday about being able to return on time in 2016. “’ll be good to go in a couple months, 100-percent clear. So, that’s nothing to worry about. I had the hip surgery last year, and that’s feeling better than I think I would have even anticipated.
“I’m very positive about the way things are going to go for myself and for the team.”
Zuttah, whose injury broke his streak of 65 consecutive games played, didn’t chalk up all the Ravens’ injuries this year to just a case a case of bad luck or misfortune.
“I don’t think that’s the way to go,” said Zuttah. “If you say it’s bad luck, then it’s going to happen again next year. You have to sit there and evaluate what happened.
“Everybody’s case isn’t going to be the same. [With] some people, there’s something, [and] there’s nothing you’re going to be able to do about it. But I think if you just put it on luck, then there’s nothing you can do to improve. You’re just playing a waiting game. So, I’m just going to take a proactive approach to it and then try to do everything I can to make sure that it doesn’t happen to me again.”
As with every injury that occurred this season, it was “Next Man Up.” In this case, the result was G/C John Urschel filling in for the injured Zuttah.
Urschel struggled with errant snaps at times, particularly in his first appearance, and also had trouble clearing running lanes. Still, the youngster gained valuable experience.
“John [Urschel] is just going to keep getting better with time and experience,” said Zuttah about his replacement. “There’s no substitute for that. This is his first time playing live-action center, and you see every week, he kept getting better.
“So, no matter what’s asked of him, I’m confident that John is just going to keep going forward.”
Zuttah provided the Ravens a contract restructure in 2015 to give them some breathing room, so it’s not likely he will become a salary cap casualty.
“No, I don’t expect them to release him,” said Brian McFarland, our resident salary cap expert. “They are likely already replacing one or two offensive linemen (Osemele and/or Monroe), so I don’t expect them to consider releasing him. Plus, they just restructured him in October, meaning they’ve added more dead money to his column. That usually indicates they don’t intend to part ways with him very soon.
“Lastly, he’s still pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things. Never say never of course, but I highly doubt it.”
For now, as we wander down the road off the offseason, it appears for the moment both the starting an backup center are locked up for 2016 and beyond.
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