Last year, left tackle Bryant McKinnie showed up out of shape to the Vikings’ training camp and was released. This year, McKinnie showed up out of shape to the Ravens’ minicamp. Does that mean his job is in jeopardy?
That’s a question being asked at the conclusion of the Ravens’ minicamp, with Mike Preston writing in the Baltimore Sun that he wonders if McKinnie will even be a Raven when training camp opens.
It seems awfully unlikely that the Ravens would release McKinnie. First of all, they’ve already paid him a $500,000 roster bonus this offseason. And more importantly, they’d have a big hole on their offensive line if they let McKinnie go: Michael Oher could move from right tackle to left tackle, but they wouldn’t have a good candidate to replace Oher on the right side.
And Ravens coach John Harbaugh was reportedly unhappy with members of the media who labeled McKinnie out of shape, telling reporters, “It’s not as simple as some of you guys want to make it.”
But the reality is that McKinnie was held out of minicamp practices so he could focus solely on conditioning. That can’t be a good sign. A month ago McKinnie said he weighed 365 pounds and was trying to get down to 350. He apparently still has a ways to go.
A company that gave McKinnie a loan during the lockout has obtained a $4.3 million judgment against him, so McKinnie apparently needs his job with the Ravens for the money. Maybe that will be enough to motivate him to shape up.
