Ed Reed's plans continue to remain somewhat of a mystery.
The Ravens opened mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, and the future Hall of Famer was not in attendance.
"I have not communicated with Ed, so I'm not sure what the situation is on that," Head Coach John Harbaugh said after practice.
Missing all three days of minicamp could reportedly lead to Reed getting docked up to $63,000 (plus another $9,000 for not taking a physical before camp) under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
"The CBA applies and I haven't talked to him," Harbaugh said.
Reed's absence comes after he's made conflicting comments this offseason regarding his future. Reed has said that he's not 100 percent committed to playing this year and flirted with the idea of retirement, but then he's also said he could see himself playing another four or five years and that he wants a long-term contract.
Reed's longtime teammate Ray Lewis believes that too much is being made of his teammate's absence.
"I don't think it's an issue at all," Lewis said. "Ed has other things going on, a baby boy and he's really trying to focus on things like that. Sometimes life calls you away from the game and these three days won't take away from what Ed Reed's focus is, and that is to come back and help our defense be the best defense there is in football. I don't think it's an issue at all, not for us."
Lewis said that he has spoken with Reed and is confident that he will be in attendance when the Ravens begin training camp in late July.
"I talk to Ed all the time and I don't expect nothing different," Lewis said. "Ed is Ed and when July 25 comes up, Ed will be there and we'll be getting ready to roll."
Running back Ray Rice, center Matt Birk and tackle Bryant McKinnie also did not attend practice.
Rice's absence was expected, as he has yet to sign the franchise tender and is in the process of negotiating a long-term contract with the Ravens. Rice has not participated in any of the team's offseason activities, and the two sides have until July 16 to work out a long-term contract.
Birk missed minicamp because of a recent procedure to repair varicose veins in his legs. Birk was not allowed to fly after having the procedure and would not have been able to practice. They tried to have the procedure done earlier, Harbaugh said, but that wasn't able to happen.
The Ravens also decided to hold McKinnie out of practice, even though he is at the training facility, for conditioning reasons and Harbaugh said that they will likely continue to do so for the rest of the week. McKinnie's weight has been a concern in the past, and the team has been monitoring his weight and conditioning throughout the offseason.
