When the Ravens wrapped up their offseason activities last month, offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele went into the three-week break focused on coming back healthy for training camp.
The second-round pick suffered some bumps and bruises – later reported as a thigh injury – during Organized Team Activities (OTAs) in May, which held him out of practices throughout the June OTAs and minicamp. As the rookies reported back to Baltimore on Sunday for the start of training camp, Osemele said he used the time away to build up his strength and get healthy.
"I'm feeling confident, stronger, bigger," Osemele said. "I'm just excited to get started."
Osemele did not say whether he would immediately return to the practice field.
"They're going to be careful and start me off slow with everything, but it's going to be good to get back out there with the guys," he said. "I'm feeling really good. I'm feeling healthy, I'm feeling in shape."
The 6-foot-5, 333-pound lineman is healthy enough to be running, as he tweeted that he passed the conditioning test all players must take before getting on the practice field.
"Beat the conditioning test with time to spare," Osemele wrote on Sunday.
When Osemele gets back on the field, he'll return to the competition for the starting left guard spot, which is expected to be one of the tightest races of camp. Veteran Bobbie Williams, rookie Gino Gradkowski and second-year lineman Jah Reid are all in the mix for the starting job, and Osemele is looking forward to the completion.
"I'm excited to get with the team, get with the veterans and just be a part of something big," he said.
