We all got excited this offseason about the little 5'9" hometown hero that is Michael Campanaro. Campanaro, a Maryland-native, has been seldom seen on the field, but has certainly made his impact when on it. Last season, he received nine targets and managed to catch seven of them for 102 yards and one touchdown. This year, with a lack of quality receiver depth, Campanaro seemed destined to break out. That sentiment was only further solidified by comments from Marc Trestman praising his play, and by this excellent touchdown last night.
Unfortunately for Campanaro, it all ended too soon. We saw him being carted off late into the game, but never saw the play where it occurred. Originally, he was reported as having simple back spasms, and was considered day-to-day, despite needing a wheelchair to get to the team bus. However, the injury turned out to be worse than we thought. Per various sources, it's a herniated disk, and that's bad enough to knock him out for the year. Today, Campanaro was moved to the season-ending Injured Reserve, in a move to make room for newest Raven Chris Givens.
For Campanaro, the issue has never been his play on the field, but rather simply staying on it. Injuries are what have held him back thus far in his career. In his rookie year, he played in just four games on account of a hamstring injury suffered on just his second NFL punt return. This year, a number of soft tissue ailments hindered him in training camp and OTAs.
Our thoughts are with Campanaro, and we hope he can make a swift recovery. Although one has to wonder if we'll be seeing him on the Baltimore Ravens again.