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Guess what? Bryant McKinnie has conditioning issues again

The Baltimore Ravens held Heavy B out of workouts this week "for conditioning purposes."

June 15, 2012 at 5:57PM
Bryant McKinnie in 2010 with the Vikings
Bryant McKinnie in 2010 with the Vikings (Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

You'll remember that Bryant McKinnie was kept off the field in Mankato last summer by the Vikings and then released because of concerns about his weight and conditioning.

Soon after, he was picked up by the Baltimore Ravens and, by all accounts, had a fine season.

This week, though, history did a rerun. McKinnie was at Baltimore's practice facility this week, but didn't practice "for conditioning purposes," coach John Harbaugh told the Baltimore Sun.

More Harbaugh: "We're going to probably continue to do that [during the minicamp] and continue to try and get him in good shape. I think practice-wise, he's just as well doing the conditioning part of it."

John Eisenberg of CSNBaltimore.com wrote: "It's really weird that the Ravens didn't want McKinnie on the practice field in June. They didn't comment further, but the only way to take it is they aren't happy with his conditioning. Since they gave him a $500,000 roster bonus in March with the understanding that he would get himself in better shape, it could be they're becoming disenchanted with him."

When Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com asked Harbaugh what McKinnie needs to do to get out of the gym and onto the field, the coach wouldn't bite: "That's something that is an in-house type of thing right now."

But Harbaugh made it clear to reporters that he didn't like the attention that's being paid to Heavy B's weight, which is listed at 360 pounds on the Ravens web site: "It's not as simple as some of you guys want to make it. It's just a situation where we are going to do what is best for the team, what is best for Bryant. We want him here; there's no reason he wouldn't be here. He has worked hard, so you try to do what's most beneficial for every guy in every situation, and it's always individualized."

You can read Hensley's full blog post here.

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about the writer

about the writer

Howard Sinker

Digital Sports Editor

Howard Sinker is digital sports editor at startribune.com and curates the website's Sports Upload blog. He is also a senior instructor in Media and Cultural Studies at Macalester College in St. Paul.

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