Ravens tight end Owen Daniels returns to practice

Ravens tight end Owen Daniels returned to practice Monday after missing the past couple of weeks due to what coach John Harbaugh described as leg soreness.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Owen Daniels returned to practice</p>&mdash; Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/RavensInsider/statuses/503965720833978368">August 25, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Owen Daniels returned to practice today. No sign of Bernard Pierce (head) or Matt Elam (undisclosed), however. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ravens?src=hash">#Ravens</a></p>&mdash; Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaltimoreLuke/statuses/503965807698001920">August 25, 2014</a></blockquote>
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It's an encouraging sign for Daniels to be back out there. Harbaugh had previously said that there were no structural issues, tears or pulls with his legs. Daniels is entering his ninth NFL season, so there is likely some wear and tear on his body. But it was concerning that Daniels missed the previous two preseason games due to soreness. All NFL players go through soreness. That's a part of the game.

Daniels did break his leg a year ago, and maybe the pain stems from that. Either way, it's unlikely he sees much time in Thursday's preseason game against the Saints, as Baltimore will want him as close to 100 percent as possible for the season-opener against Cincinnati.