Ravens center Matt Skura passes physical and is expected to begin practicing

While Baltimore Ravens center Matt Skura wasn’t able to take the field with his teammates at the start of training camp as he had hoped, he will be on the field and practicing when the pads come on starting Monday. He began training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP) but after passing his physical on Sunday, he has been cleared to practice and resume all football activities.

Skura suffered a dislocated his knee and tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL on Nov.25 late last season in Monday Night shellacking of the Los Angeles Rams in primetime. Head Coach John Harbaugh said before training camp that his progress in his rehabilitation process was remarkable but said last week that he wanted to ensure that Skura could move “the right way” and “put him against some pressure” before clearing him to practice.

He’ll be looking to reclaim his starting position that he has manned at a high level for the last two years before going down. Skura will be competing with Patrick Mekari who did a more than admirable job taking over for him down the stretch of the regular season and in the playoffs.

Mekari made the team as an undrafted rookie out of the University of California in 2019, is entering his second season, and has been taking the reps at center with the first-team unit the past week. Prior to suffering his season-ending injury last season, Skura had established himself as one of the best centers in the league according to Harbaugh and last week Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman shared the same belief in his first press conference since training camp opened up.

“I thought Matt got bigger and stronger and played bigger and stronger last year. I really think his work in the weight room with our strength and conditioning staff in the offseason leading into last year allowed him to be a little bit more of a physical presence in there,” Roman said.

“And that, coupled with the fact that he’s played guard, he’s played center, he understands and he’s a very intelligent player. So, I really think his understanding of the game made his communication process almost utterly seamless at times. That’s something he takes a lot of pride in, but a center is so important as far as getting everybody on the same page in today’s NFL.”

Earlier this offseason the Ravens lost a future first-ballot Hall of Famer when eight-time offensive guard Marshal Yanda decided to hang up his cleats for good and call it a career after 13 incredible seasons. His departure not only left a vacant spot in the starting lineup that produced the most potent rushing attack in league history in 2019, but it also left a leadership void that will take a collective effort to fill.

While First-Team All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley is the most accomplished and tenured player on the line, Skura’s return would provide more experience in the scheme and leadership to the interior of the offensive line than Mekari since he’s started 39 games for the Ravens—12 at right guard and 27 at center—in his first three seasons since making the roster as an undrafted free agent out of Duke in 2017.

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