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Kelechi Osemele's Injury Could Leave Huge Void In Baltimore's Interior Line

By Samuel Njoku

In the past, the Baltimore Ravens have been all about winning. That hasn't been the case in 2015, and some of that can be attributed to the health of the team as a whole. For the Ravens to continue their streak of seasons without a losing record, they'll need to bounce back in a big way against the St. Louis Rams.

One person who will be unable to help the Ravens out in 2015 is WR Breshad Perriman. Baltimore finally decided to put Ravens fans and Perriman out of their misery when they announced he was sent to the injured reserve list, effectively ending his season. The rookie wideout has been battling a PCL sprain since training camp and many hoped that he could recover soon enough to show off his talents. Unfortunately for the organization, that wasn't meant to be and Perriman will instead have to look to 2016 to see his hard work pay off. As many can imagine, he was disappointed with the outcome.

"Just a huge disappointment for me and I feel lie I'm letting [the team] down," stated Perriman on Thursday. "I feel like I do have a role on this team. I don't know how much I can help, but I just know that I can help somewhere. That's been really the hardest thing for me, really staying positive and knowing that next year is going to be my year to help everyone and hopefully have the greatest record ever here."

It's a shame things didn't work out for Perriman the way many had hoped, but at least now all parties involved can look forward to next season instead of dwelling in a cesspool of uncertainty.

Speaking of uncertainty, guard Kelechi Osemele appears to be a game-time decision for Sunday's game against the Rams. He failed to practice on Wednesday, practiced fully on Thursday, and then missed practiced again on Friday. That type of pattern makes it hard to predict how serious of a knee injury we're dealing with. If he's unable to play, Ryan Jensen will be up to make his first start since entering the league three years ago. With Jeremy Zuttah out for the season, the interior of the line will take a big hit if another dominant presence is removed due to injury.

Elvis Dumervil is dealing with what appears to be a minor knee injury. It kept him from practicing on Wednesday, but he was a full participant on Thursday and Friday. Barring a major setback, the Ravens fully expect Dumervil to suit up on Sunday. The Ravens routinely keep veterans off the practice field periodically throughout the week. That was the case with Chris Canty and Daryl Smith. Though they've made appearances on the injury report, none suffered injuries that would keep them off the field on Sunday afternoon in M&T Bank Stadium.

Probable:
Elvis Dumervil, LB (knee)
Chris Canty, DE (Not Injury Related)
Daryl Smith, LB (Not Injury Related)

Questionable:
Kelechi Osemele, G (knee)

Doubtful
Nick Boyle, TE (foot)

Samuel Njoku was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and is a graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Samuel has covered the Ravens for Examiner.com since 2010. Prior to 2010, Samuel was an avid blogger and radio personality in Salisbury, MD. Samuel Njoku is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Ravens_Examiner.

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