Mike

McAdoo

McAdoo isn’t known to be injured, and doesn’t even need surgery on the knee. This has the look of a trumped up ailment to avoid losing the promising but raw undrafted rookie on waivers. McAdoo will be back in camp next summer fighting for a roster spot.

McAdoo will miss all of 2012 with a torn Achilles’ tendon. An undrafted free agent last season, he’ll revert to injured reserve after he goes unclaimed on waivers. McAdoo’s injury has put a significant damper on his future.

“He’s not a guy we’ll give up on,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s just going to be a project for us. He’s going to get another year in the weight room and in the meetings and try to see if he can be a player next year.” Bypassed in last year’s supplemental draft, the 6'7" pass rusher remains the youngest player on the roster at age 22.

He ruptured it in Thursday’s OTA and had surgery Friday. It’s the Ravens’ second torn Achilles’ of the spring after Terrell Suggs’ April 28 partial tear. McAdoo was a wildcard in the competition to replace Suggs at 6-foot-7, 245 with some natural pass rush tools. Baltimore is quickly thinning on the defensive line. Suggs is out until winter at earliest, and Ryan McBean will open the season on suspension. Arthur Jones and Pernell McPhee are going to have to stay healthy and step up.

A 2011 undrafted free agent, McAdoo has spent his entire NFL career on injured reserve. Suspended for his final year at North Carolina, he hasn’t played a competitive down in over three years. He knows he’s a roster long-shot. “I just feel like I can do my thing now, move around, McAdoo said. “My goal is to open up some eyes and let them know this is what they really brought me in for.”

McAdoo missed the 2012 season with an Achilles’ injury. The previous year, he was placed on injured reserve with a knee ailment. Given his relative youth and intriguing measurables, it’s possible McAdoo could get a look elsewhere. However, his NFL game experience is limited to one preseason contest with Baltimore in 2011.

McAdoo entered the supplemental draft after suing North Carolina in an academic fraud case. He went undrafted Monday. Playing in a rotation from 2008-2009, McAdoo recorded 29 tackles, 10 for losses and 3 1/2 sacks. He’s a project at 6'7", 245 pounds with a 4.7 forty.

The Ravens have already come to grips with the fact that McAdoo won’t help them this season. “It’s just a move for the future of the team,” Harbaugh said. “It’s the way [GM] Ozzie [Newsome] structured the agreement with the agent so he’s here for a week and we’ll go from there. He’s a practice squad guy.”