Ravens defensive end Michael McCrary said this season unquestionably has been the most difficult of his 10-year career.

And it is not just because McCrary has missed the past four games with what amounts to an arthritic knee condition. It is also the decision regarding his future he will have to make in the coming weeks.

"I've never been in this situation," said McCrary, 32. "If I can't get out there, I'm just trying to do the best I can to contribute.

"I have some stuff going on in [the knees]. We're still testing, trying to figure out if I'm going to be able to come back. It's enough to where I can't go out there."

Barring a drastic change in McCrary's condition, Ravens officials likely will place the two-time Pro Bowl player on injured reserve within the next two weeks, thereby ending his season.

It would be a worst-case scenario come true for the Ravens, who tried to pace McCrary during the preseason and planned to limit him to mostly passing situations throughout the year in hopes of keeping him healthy.

Instead, McCrary, with 14 tackles and two sacks, has played in five of the 10 games (one of the past six) and appears to be headed toward having his season cut short for the second straight year. McCrary was having one of his best seasons last year, registering 7 1/2 sacks in 10 games while rarely practicing, before his knees gave out and he was forced to have surgery last November.

Still feeling he could perform at a high level, Ravens officials choose to renegotiate his contract, signing him to a six-year, $24 million extension with a $3.6 million signing bonus.

The move freed up salary cap space so the team could sign its draft picks and made McCrary one of the few older veterans to survive the team's much-publicized purge.

"[McCrary stayed] because of where Mike was in his career and what he was willing to do contractually," said Ravens coach Brian Billick. "We approached a couple of guys -- Sam Adams, Elvis Grbac -- and they were more of the mind to do other things.

"We appreciated the fact Mike valued being here in Baltimore at such a high priority. It just seemed to fit."

But McCrary's knees flared up early in camp and his name started appearing on the team's injury report a couple of weeks into the season.

"You roll the dice sometimes," Billick said. "We were of the opinion in the spring after looking at the knees, the doctors felt there were a certain amount of life left in them. Mike felt pretty good. But as we progressed, got into camp and went hard the first couple of games, it became apparent that they were just not going to hold up. Like any athlete with any injury, sometimes you take a chance and roll the dice, and this time it just didn't work out."

Because of McCrary's relatively high salary and knee problems, if he is placed on injured reserve, that probably will end his career as a Raven, at which point he could choose to retire.

If that happens before the end of the season, there is speculation the Ravens would honor McCrary, whose 51 sacks as a Raven places him second all time behind Peter Boulware, at one of the final home games.

But the team will leave it up to McCrary.

"My last year playing, I knew it was my last year because I could not physically hold up," said Earnest Byner, a 14-year NFL veteran and the Ravens' director of player development. "For me, it was my neck. If I bumped something, I got a pinched nerve. I wanted to still play. It took me about two weeks at the end of that season to come to the conclusion that I needed to move on to the next level. And that's not easy.

"Wanting to still play, thinking you can still play, all that is going to be part of the contributing factors Mac is going to have to deal with."

For now, McCrary is relishing his role as a pseudo-assistant coach and making one last gasp to rehabilitate his knees.

"He's valuable to us just by his presence out there and working with these young guys, on their pass rush especially," said defensive line coach Rex Ryan. "He's been good for us. He talks to them from a player's perspective, and I think these young guys can gain a lot from that.

"He's meant everything to us. When you think about the Baltimore Ravens, you think about obviously Ray Lewis because that's where you should think, and Michael McCrary just being relentless and playing the game the way it's supposed to be played -- with great passion and effort and determination that you find in very few players."

Said McCrary: "I can only do what my body allows me to do, and right now my body isn't allowing me to be on the football field."

NOTES: Lewis' left shoulder remained sore yesterday, as did a calf. Lewis took a hit to his calf in Sunday's loss to Miami and is day-to-day. ... The Ravens signed Raymond Perryman, a first-year safety out of Northern Arizona, to the practice squad and released guard Jim Jones. ... Safety Anthony Mitchell donated $5,500 and was honorary chair for Leukemia/Lymphoma Society's Man of the Year event last week. Ethan Brooks also took part in the event. ... Jamal Lewis was honorary coach for the Head Urban Tennis Group and Greenspring Racquet Club last week.

Next for Ravens

Matchup: Ravens (4-6) vs. Tennessee Titans (6-4)

Site: Ravens Stadium

When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV/Radio: Ch. 13/WJFK (1300 AM), WQSR (102.7 FM)

Line: Titans by 1 1/2

SunSpot: For more coverage, visit sunspot.net/ravens