Teddye Buchanan is cleared to get back on the field. The Ravens linebacker passed his physical Friday and came off the physically unable to perform list, months after a torn ACL ended his rookie season early.
Buchanan tore the ACL on December 14 and has drawn praise from the organization for how he handled the recovery. Speaking on 105.7 The Fan back in July, general manager Eric DeCosta said Buchanan's recovery ranked among the "top 1% of rehabs" he's witnessed in his time with the organization, adding at the time that he expected to see Buchanan back "sooner than later." Head coach Jesse Minter offered similar praise last week, saying Buchanan has attacked his recovery in a way that's been genuinely impressive to watch.
Baltimore is expected to bring him along carefully rather than rush him back into full team drills, with a pair of joint practices against the Vikings on the schedule next week ahead of the second preseason game. Still, coming off PUP now puts Buchanan in position to be ready for the September 13 season opener, giving him roughly a month to build back up.
Despite the injury cutting his rookie year three games short, Buchanan earned a spot on the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie team. He stepped into a starting role alongside Roquan Smith early in the season and finished third on the team in tackles with 93. Trenton Simpson took over down the stretch after Buchanan went down and has carried that momentum into camp, giving Baltimore two options at the position as the season approaches.
In a separate move announced the same day, the Ravens placed offensive tackle Kendall Lamm on the reserve/retired list. Lamm, 34, had signed with Baltimore earlier this month after an 11-year career with the Texans, Browns, Titans, and Dolphins, and had been brought in to help replace fellow tackle Hakeem Adeniji, who was placed on the same list last week.