Bryant McKinnie was an unsung hero of the Baltimore Ravens' run to Super Bowl glory, a forgotten man who became Joe Flacco's ideal blind-side protector when the games mattered most.
Fast forward five months. McKinnie has a new deal with the Ravens and is slotted to be the team's starting left tackle. He's also dealing with an all-too-familiar roadblock.
McKinnie has been held out of training-camp practices because he reported over his prescribed weight.
"Bryant's just too heavy right now. He needs to lose weight," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "My guess is he lost quite a bit today. But he's in good shape. And he's in good cardiovascular fitness, and I can tell that he's worked hard.
"But I wasn't real comfortable putting him out there today at that weight," Harbaugh continued. "So we'll figure it out in the next 24 hours, the next 48 hours what we want to do and the best way to deal with it. He'll be out there at some point."
McKinnie isn't on the sidelines because of a failed conditioning test. A source told The Baltimore Sun that McKinnie does not have to take the test because of his level of participation in the Ravens' offseason training activities.
McKinnie has battled weight and conditioning issues dating to his time with the Minnesota Vikings. He failed his mandatory running test one year ago, blaming his poor conditioning on a slip-and-fall at his home in Florida. He eventually worked himself into game shape but saw little action until the back end of the Ravens' season.
Something clearly happened between spring minicamp and the start of training camp. Harbaugh praised McKinnie last month, saying the 32-year-old veteran looked healthy and seemed to be "very committed."
It now appears that McKinnie's committment wavered in the weeks leading up to training camp. It's a familiar story.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
