Ravens fans let out a sigh of relief Tuesday morning as left tackle Ronnie Stanley made his way out to the practice field.
The No. 6 overall pick went down with an injury in Saturday's practice and sat out Monday, but any lingering concerns were put to rest when he returned to action Tuesday.
"I felt good out there," Stanley said after practice. "I just like being out on the field with my teammates. I'm not the type to sit around and be OK with it. I really want to be out there to help my team out."
Stanley said the day he suffered the injury that it wasn't serious, and it was a good sign to get him back just a couple days later. Even though Stanley was able to practice, his status is up in the air for the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium.
John Harbaugh said Stanley would be a "game-time decision," and the rookie deferred to his head coach on that matter.
Stanley didn't get tested too much during practice because the Ravens significantly dialed back the intensity. With the preseason opener two days away, Harbaugh decided to have the team practice in shorts and no helmets.
"Today was more mental," Harbaugh said. "It's probably twofold: It's an opportunity to recover a little bit. We've had some really good practices, some really physical practices. This is an opportunity for us to recover a little bit from that and get ready for Thursday night and just focus on attention to detail. We emphasize technique and communication."
Here are other notes from Tuesday's practice:
- Wide receiver Daniel Brown returned to practice after a scary moment Monday when he took a crushing hit from cornerback Sam Brown. Rookie sixth-round pick Maurice Canady also returned to action after missing the last week with an undisclosed injury.
- Tight ends Crockett Gillmore (hamstring), Dennis Pitta (finger) and Maxx Williams (undisclosed), and wide receivers Michael Campanaro (strain), Chris Moore reported foot) and Chris Matthews (undisclosed) all missed practice.
- Practice was so light that quarterback Joe Flacco didn't even wear a knee brace on his surgically-repaired ACL and MCL.
- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan made the trip to Owings Mills for practice. He chatted with President Dick Cass for most of practice, and also visited with fans, took pictures and delivered a post-practice speech to the team. "He had some good words for us. I think he could be a good coach," Harbaugh said. "He did an excellent job [and is] a really likeable guy."
