NFL Odds: Ravens Star Safety Ed Reed to Miss First Six Weeks

Baltimore certainly will miss Ed Reed. (AP Images)

Big but not totally unexpected blow for the Baltimore Ravens as All-Pro safety Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed has been placed on the physically-unable-to-play list, meaning he will miss the first six weeks of the season. The Ravens open the season Sept. 13 in a potential AFC Championship Game preview against the New York Jets – bet on it at Bodog’s NFL odds.

Reed has a hip injury that back to last December, when he missed four games (he has missed just 10 in his eight-year NFL career). That ended his streak of 64 straight games played. Reed underwent reconstructive hip surgery in early May that generally requires 4-6 months of recovery time. He likely will be replaced in the lineup by third-year player Tom Zbikowski, who started four games in his first two seasons and has played well in the preseason. But Reed is a future Hall of Famer and a major difference-maker. Reed, a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a six-time Pro Bowler, recorded three interceptions and three forced fumbles in 12 games in 2009.   He has a franchise-best 46 interceptions and has scored 13 touchdowns in his career.

The Ravens figured to have a good head start on the rival Pittsburgh Steelers to win the AFC North because of the suspension to Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, and the Ravens are still the Bodog betting favorites to do so. But with Big Ben returning now in four games instead of six and with the Reed news, the potential gap certainly has narrowed. The Ravens have a tough schedule in the first six weeks: at the Jets, at Cincinnati, vs. Cleveland, at Pittsburgh (Roethlisberger’s final game out), vs. Denver and at New England. Reed would return against Buffalo on Oct. 24, and then the Ravens have a bye.

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