Baltimore Ravens: Stop Calling Breshad Perriman a Bust

There are some Baltimore Ravens fans that are already labeling Breshad Perriman as a bust. It is too soon to give up on the 2015 first-round pick.

Ask any Ravens fan what this franchise has failed to produce in the two decades since coming to Baltimore and they will tell you wide receiver. Every offseason it is in the discussion that this team needs a star on the outside. Fans will be even more harsh when the Ravens draft a wide out in the first round and he does not produce.

That has been the unfortunate case for Breshad Perriman this season after partially tearing his ACL in his left knee last week. Fans are now ripping the Ravens’ top choice a year ago and saying he is a bust.

Let’s slow down with that talk.

Perriman reportedly hurt his knee during a fade route in a non-contact drill. This comes just 14 months after he missed all of the 2015 season after injuring his PCL in his right knee.

That has some fans and members of the media calling Perriman “injury prone” and “soft.” That made Steve Smith angry. He strongly defended the former Central Florida star before Lardarius Webb‘s charity softball game Sunday.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is all the bulls— ass people that are going to have their comments about he’s this and he’s that. The injuries he sustained are not injuries Ozzie Newsome saw coming. These are not injuries that you can control. These aren’t training injuries.”

“These aren’t injuries where he’s not strong enough or not tough enough. When you slightly tear anything, that requires a lot of treatment and possibly surgery. I feel bad for him as a man because you’re going to hear all the naysayers who weren’t there, who didn’t see what happened and don’t really understand you can’t control injuries.”

This is coming from one of the guttiest players to ever take the football field. Smith cracked four ribs last season, and only missed a game. He would tear his Achilles a few weeks later, an injury that would end his season.

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This is someone who is in Perriman’s corner. Smith knows that injuries are a part of the game, and he too is battling back from an injury many thought would be the way his career ended. He wants to see the kid succeed. So do I.

It is important to point out that the injuries were not to the same knee. While it is troublesome that both of his knees could need surgery in less than a year’s time, this is not a case where a particular knee is costing him playing time.

As Kamar Aiken described it, “It was a freak accident. There is no other way to explain it.”

It is a big blow to the Ravens plans because regardless of the acquisition of Mike Wallace this offseason, Perriman was supposed to be the x-factor this season. He is the future at the position and this is another setback in his development.

We are still waiting to hear about the severity of the injury. There are conflicting reports at this time that he could miss just a few weeks or months. Others are saying he could miss the entire season once again. Everyone hopes the latter is not the case.

There is a short list of people that have seen what Perriman looks like on the practice field and they have raved about his play. There is still a reason the team drafted him so high. They believe he has the talent to be a star for this franchise. A “freak accident” does not change that.

Unfortunately, the fans have not and are quick to turn their backs on him before ever stepping on the field. If he is dropping passes all the time and cannot run routes effectively, we have every right to chastise him for his play. If this trend continues on, maybe he is more injury prone than imagined. But calling him a wasted draft pick because of two crazy injuries is premature.

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Ravens Nation needs to stay patient with Perriman. Stop calling him a bust until we actually see him on the field. We will have every right to judge him on his play when the time comes.

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