It was disconserting to say the least, and the Ravens took their sweet time in owning up to the reality: their Pro Bowl OLB pass-rusher supreme Terrell Suggs ripped up his achilles tendon while working out on his own in Arizona yesterday…
No doubt many members of the Pittsburgh Steelers are enjoying a little bit of shaddenfreude over this turn of events…
Suggs says it’s “just” a partial tear, and he’ll be ready to go by late October… me, I’m guessing rehab takes a bit longer…He’ll most likely not be ready to play again until January 2013…
While all of this bad news was going down, Eric DeCosta (Ravens director of player personnel) did a live call-in show on Ravens.com… DeCosta was asked which Ravens 2012 draft pick was his favorite.
And his answer may not be the one you would expect.
“I think the favorite pick was probably [guard/center Gino] Gradkowski,” DeCosta said during a live chat with fans.
“He was a sleeper player for us who was a consensus favorite amongst the scouts and coaches. I think he’s smart and a tough guy, physical, very good athlete.” The Ravens took Gradkowski with the third pick in the fourth round (No. 98 overall), a selection acquired by trading back out of the first round on Day 1. The Delaware product picked up steam in the later stages of the recruiting process, and Baltimore was happy to snag him.
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King said that when he called around the league before the draft asking for players general managers and coaches liked, Gradkowski came up a few times. “He’ll have the chance to solve a long-term problem for a gritty offensive team,” King wrote.
Upshaw Is The Biggest Steal according to Herm Edwards…
ESPN analyst Herm Edwards called Courtney Upshaw the biggest steal of the draft at the conclusion of Day 2. DeCosta agrees that Upshaw was quite the bargain at pick No. 35. He predicted Upshaw will be the Ravens’ biggest steal of this draft class when looking back three years from now.
“He’s a guy that should pay dividends for us as a pass rusher and run defender,” DeCosta said. “He comes from a top program and should fit in very quickly.” DeCosta said the Ravens had Upshaw in their top-20 players. He would have taken him at No. 29.
“We had taken several trade offers and we were weighing whether to draft Courtney in the first round or roll the dice and try to get him in the top of the second,” DeCosta said. “In the end we decided to take the risk, knowing we would gain an additional draft pick.”
The Ravens made the right call, as five teams passed on Upshaw and Baltimore got its man.
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