Last night, the Ravens played their first preseason game of the year. Rookie linebacker Sergio Kindle wasn’t there.
Kindle continues to recover from a fractured skull that he suffered more than three weeks ago in a fall at a friend’s house. We’re told that he’s out of the hospital, that he’s spending at least part of his time at a rehab facility, and that he watched last night’s game against the Panthers on ESPN.
Kindle has yet to sign a rookie deal, however. Per a league source, the Ravens don’t plan to sign Kindle until he is cleared to play football again. The problem, from Kindle’s perspective, is that he may never be cleared to play football again.
And if it happens, it apparently won’t happen in 2010. Rich Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News reportedly has said that the Ravens do not expect Kindle to play at all in 2010.
Some of you have asked whether Kindle had insurance to protect him against a career-ending injury. We’re told that, indeed, he does.
So even if Kindle never gets paid by the Ravens, he’ll get paid by the insurance company. Unless, of course, the insurance company can attribute the fractured skull to a pre-existing condition.
