Bryant McKinnie not practicing, reported over prescribed weight

Ravens starting offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie reported overweight to training camp and wasn't allowed to practice Thursday.

It's a familiar predicament for the former Pro Bowl blocker.

McKinnie has a long history of weight and conditioning issues, failing a mandatory conditioning test a year ago when he reported late to camp and ballooning up to nearly 400 pounds two years ago during the NFL lockout.

The veteran left tackle is listed at 6 feet 8, 354 pounds. He is roughly 10 pounds overweight and is expected to lose the weight quickly to get back on the field, according to sources.

McKinnie, 33, wasn't required to take the conditioning test because of his high level of participation in the offseason conditioning program

“Bryant is just too heavy right now,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He needs to lose weight. He's in good shape and he has good cardiovascular fitness, and I can tell he's worked hard, but I wasn't real comfortable putting him out there at that weight. We will figure it out in the next 24 hours, the next 48 hours, what we want to do and the best way to deal with it. He will be out there at some point.”

McKinnie drew praise from Harbaugh this spring for his work ethic after signing to a two-year contract with a maximum value of $7 million.

Annual reporting and workout bonuses worth $200,000 in the deal were designed to provide motivation for McKinnie, who boldly proclaimed in June that he was dedicated to becoming the best left tackle in the game.

“Yeah, we're both disappointed,” Harbaugh said. “I'm not sure who's more disappointed, Bryant or I, because he was pretty darn disappointed, but I was feeling pretty disappointed myself. We had a long talk about it. It's not that effort wasn't put in and there's an issue. But we're going to get it fixed together and we're going to get him out there.”


(baltimoresun.com)