Hours after watching Derrick Mason being helped off the field, the Ravens could breathe a sigh of relief.
The veteran wide receiver had only sprained his right ankle.
"Luckily, it's not anything serious that's going to keep me out a long period of time," said Mason, who had the ankle taped. "It's just stiff and sore. Not a lot of pain."
It initially seemed worse after Mason was hit by strong safety Dawan Landry late in Tuesday morning's practice.
With his arms draped over trainers' shoulders, Mason couldn't put any weight on his right leg. About four hours later, Mason said the injury shouldn't affect his availability for the regular season.
"I'll be fine," Mason said outside the team hotel. "I just twisted it, that's all."
On the play he was injured, Mason caught a pass along the sideline, ran 10 yards and tried to make a cut before being hit by Landry. He fumbled the ball and immediately fell.
Mason, 36, is one of the most durable players in the NFL. He has not missed a regular-season game since 2002, starting 122 straight, a mark that ranks second among active wide receivers.
A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Mason is the only player in NFL history to produce at least 5,000 total return yards and 11,000 receiving yards. Last season, he led the Ravens in receiving yards (1,028) and receiving touchdowns (seven).
"If you lose Derrick, you lose a big part of the offense," wide receiver Anquan Boldin said. "He won't be out too long."
Mason said he probably has had this injury before but doesn't think it's a high-ankle sprain.
"It's something you deal with, and you move on," Mason said.
The Ravens have dealt with bumps and bruises early in training camp. Mason is the seventh player to suffer an injury in practice, although the only serious one has been cornerback Domonique Foxworth (torn anterior cruciate ligament).
Despite the injuries, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the Ravens have to continue with contact practices.
"On one hand, you try to get 100 percent, as much done as you possibly can, to become as good of a football team as you can," Harbaugh said. "On the other hand, you do 100percent, as much as you can to protect one another in those situations. There is no line to walk. A fluke injury is a fluke injury, no matter whether you're running a contact drill or running a noncontact drill.
Harbaugh added, "You can't come out here and pack these guys on ice. If you do that, you're not going to have a football team."
jamison.hensley@baltsun.com
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