Six-time Pro Bowl linebacker Suggs returns to practice for Ravens

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Eleven months and two days after tearing his left Achilles tendon in the 2015 season opener, Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs has returned to pracice.
The six-time Pro Bowl selection was activated from the active physically unable to perform list on Monday and was seeing his first on-field action since Sept. 13, 2015 when he suffered his second Achilles tear in a four-year period. The injury occurred in a 19-13 loss to Denver, and Suggs was placed on season-ending injured reserve a couple days later.
“Darth Sizzle is back. It felt great to be back on the field with the team,” Suggs said in a statement released by the team. “There is nothing like it. Didn’t get to do too much today as I am working my way back. I will speak with the media when I am fully back practicing.”
Head coach John Harbaugh said last week that Suggs was the closest of the Ravens’ five players on the PUP list to returning to the practice field.
It remains unclear when or if Suggs, 33, will take part in a preseason game, but his mid-August return to practice puts him on track to be ready for the start of his 14th season in the NFL. Fellow outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, wide receivers Steve Smith and Breshad Perriman, and running back Lorenzo Taliaferro remain on the PUP list.
Despite not being on the field to begin training camp, Suggs has helped mentor younger outside linebackers such as Za’Darius Smith and rookies Kamalei Correa and Matt Judon and will now be able to continue those lessons on the field.
“I don’t think anybody knows his body better than he does at this point in time in his career,” defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. “We’ll work him in as we can work him in. His health’s the most important thing right now. He knows the defense; he knows what we’re doing. Anything we’ve changed, he knows. Now, it’s just a matter of getting him ready.”
Suggs wasn’t the only player to return to the practice field on Monday as tight end Crockett Gillmore, defensive tackles Brandon Williams and Carl Davis, wide receiver Michael Campanaro, cornerback Maurice Canady, defensive back Anthony Levine, and linebacker Chris Carter were present and working after various lengths of absence. Gillmore’s absence had been the longest of the aforementioned names as he was recovering from a hamstring injury suffered on July 29.
The Ravens still had an extensive list of absentees on Monday with wide receivers Chris Moore, Chris Matthews, and Kaelin Clay, safety Kendrick Lewis, cornerbacks Kyle Arrington, Sheldon Price, Sam Brown, and Tavon Young, guard John Urschel, tight ends Dennis Pitta, Max Williams, and Daniel Brown, and defensive end Bronson Kaufusi not participating.