It appears Ravens wide receiver Breshad Perriman’s 2016 season hasn’t come to an end, after all.
Tuesday’s arthroscopic surgery performed by Dr. James Andrews revealed that the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee is stable, meaning Perriman won’t need season-ending reconstruction surgery. The 22-year-old received a stem-cell injection to speed up the healing process, and the Ravens expect Perriman to be able to play this season.
The 2015 first-round pick hurt his left knee on the final day of organized team activities last week and was initially diagnosed with a partially-torn ACL, leaving his season in jeopardy before receiving the second opinion.
“I would just say that it’s not a tear that needs to be repaired,” head coach John Harbaugh. “I don’t know if it’s a tear or it it’s a partial tear or what exactly. I wasn’t there. Maybe Breshad can comment on that from what the doctors told him when he comes back. It just needs treatment, and he should be back at some point in time during training camp [and] will certainly be ready for the regular reason.
“But, again, that’s always unpredictable. I think we’ve been down this road before. We’ll continue to just work hard and do that. It was really good news today.”
As Harbaugh alluded to, skepticism will remain about how quickly Perriman can return to the field after he missed his entire rookie season with a partially-torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that was originally considered minor. However, this appears to be good news for the 2015 first-round pick and the Ravens compared to the alternative of season-ending ACL reconstruction.
With Thursday’s news, the Ravens still envision Perriman and veteran newcomer Mike Wallace becoming a dangerous downfield duo for quarterback Joe Flacco this season.
“You just feel for him and especially feel for him to not even be able to get his feet wet yet,” said Wallace about the second-year receiver. “He was just telling me last week how excited he was for this upcoming season. And we’re still hopeful that he’ll be back soon. We’re going to stay prayed up and keep hope alive for him, and I think hopefully he’ll be back at some point this season to help us.”
