Breshad Perriman 'Extremely Unlikely' to Play Thursday

The first-round rookie wide receiver Breshad Perriman has been held out of eight consecutive practices, after spraining his knee in the first session. While the move to sit him is mostly precautionary, as Perriman is simply nursing his injury now, it's still serious enough to render his status questionable for the preseason opener versus the Saints Thursday night.

Perriman has not yet participated in a full-contact practice, and the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec says "it seems extremely unlikely that the rookie will be ready to play."

Coach John Harbaugh was a little more optimistic.

"It’s too early to say," Harbaugh said. "I would like to see him get on the field Monday or Tuesday, but I wouldn’t keep him out if he didn’t. It’s just a matter of how the injury is."

Perriman isn't the only one whose status is up in the air for Thursday, as twenty players took the day off Friday for various reasons. Since teams don't have to release injury reports for preseason games, Zrebiec offered up his own predictions on who would and wouldn't play from that group.

Predicted to play:

WR Kamar Aiken (fatigue)

WR Marlon Brown (back, knee)

CB Chris Greenwood (knee)

OG Kelechi Osemele (foot/ankle)

WR Steve Smith Sr. (family matter)

Predicted not to play:

S Terrence Brooks (PUP, knee)

S Matt Elam (torn biceps)

WR Breshad Perriman (knee)

TE Dennis Pitta (PUP, hip)

DE Brent Urban (torn biceps)

CB Tray Walker (hamstring)

Up in the air:

S Kendrick Lewis (leg)

OG Robert Myers (concussion)

DE DeAngelo Tyson (unknown)

OG John Urschel (concussion)

TE Maxx Williams (poked eye)

Don't be surprised if many of these guys are held out because of precautionary measures. After all, the 'injury bug' has already bitten the Ravens hard, with both Matt Elam and Brent Urban going down for most of the season. It's a narrative the Ravens don't want to continue.