Cory Redding had his right ankle heavily taped and was absent from the portion of Wednesday's practice open to the media. But as far as the Ravens defensive end is concerned, he intends to play against the Cleveland Browns on Christmas Eve.
"Rest is the biggest thing, but right now, it's 2:38 [p.m.] on Wednesday. So right now, my mindset is to get my ankle in the best shape that I can before Saturday, and let the chips fall where they may," Redding said. "For the most part, my mindset is I'm playing. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it."
Redding is enjoying a revival of sorts, registering 4½ sacks – the most in his career since 2006 when he finished with eight. He first sustained the ankle injury in the team's 24-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 11, but played against the San Diego Chargers the following week despite missing two days of practice.
Redding admitted that the chance to contribute to the team's possible push for a top-two seed, a first-round bye and a home playoff game is too tempting to ignore.
"This is a unique position for me," said Redding, a nine-year veteran. "I've never been in this position in my whole entire career. So for me to sit out because of this, it's not acceptable to me. I'll have 300-some-odd days for the pain to get well, but I only have 17 weeks to play football. That's how I think about it. If I can't go, you know it's bad because in my heart, I want to be out there. You've got to be smart, too. We're approaching the playoffs and all that stuff, too. I'm just doing everything the doctors and trainers are telling me to do. I'm looking to play on Saturday."