The Baltimore Ravens had their first full team practice today at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Maryland.

There were two notable absences; Haloti Ngata and Bryant McKinnie were not on the field during practice.

The reason for McKinnie’s absence is unknown, according to head coach John Harbaugh; he is “dealing with an issue” and contacted the team to say that he would not be at practice.

McKinnie put on weight over the off season and the Ravens said he needed to reach a target weight of 345 pounds before he could attend training camp. We know that he did not pass his conditioning test and some speculate that he did not reach his target weight.

Normally active on Twitter, McKinnie has not updated since July 22. His absence from Twitter is cause for alarm that something is going on.

On the contrary, the Ravens know why Ngata missed practice. He tweaked his hamstring during conditioning; it is unknown when he will be allowed to practice again, they are keeping him off the field as a precautionary measure.

With McKinnie out, coach Harbaugh moved Michael Oher from the right side back to left tackle. He will remain there until further notice. The Ravens need to find a right tackle.

The Ravens added wide receiver Logan Payne to their offense and cut fullback Jamison Berryhill. Payne, a former undrafted free agent from Minnesota did not see any playing time last season due a wrist injury, he was placed on the injured reserve.

Payne previously played on the practice squads of the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.  He last played in 2008 with the Seattle Seahawks where he started in 2 games and had three catches for 39 yards till he suffered an injury in the second game and was placed on the injured reserve.

He will complete for a wide receiver position and will have a chance to play on special teams. He will battle it out with Tandon Doss, LaQuan Williams, Tommy Streeter and Deonte Thompson.

McKinnie’s absence bothers me, he has too many issues going on right now and I don’t expect them to clear up any time soon. His absence creates problems for the Ravens since they have to find someone to take his spot and they already have enough holes to fill.

While Payne would be a versatile player, his lack of playing time bothers me, he hasn’t played in four years and he is injury prone. Guess I will have to wait and see how he stacks up against the competition in training camp, only time will tell what kind of player he will be.