I’m a big, overweight guy. Being a big, overweight guy, I don’t like to comment on other people’s weight problems. I do, however, like to call a spade a spade when I see it. So when the Ravens announced a month ago that they wanted LT Bryant McKinnie to be at 345 lbs, it sent up some red flags about his weight and conditioning. It was said that he weighed 365 in May and 354 at the start of minicamp in June.

Then McKinnie doesn’t show up to training camp.

All day, people were speculating that it was his weight that was the problem. John Harbaugh addressed the media by saying that McKinnie is dealing with some sort of personal issue and there is no timetable on his return. Obviously, this is something that could be a concern for Ravens fans. Without McKinnie, Oher is back to Left Tackle and Jah Ried is now the leading candidate for the Right Tackle position.

However, what I am wondering is “What is really going on?” Is there something serious with McKinnie, or are the Ravens using their PR machine to buy themselves and McKinnie some time? Did the Ravens coaching staff draw a line in the sand in hopes to motivate the big guy? If so, this “personal issue” could be a great way to deflect attention. This is less of a criticism about McKinnie than being untrusting of the Ravens front office. They have been recognized for having a top notch PR team led by Kevin Byrne, but being married to a PR person, I know for a fact that PR is based on “spinning the truth” or “lying,” as some call it.

As much as I love this team, I cannot trust a thing that comes out of their mouths. McKinnie will have to come out of hiding soon and when he does, he might set the record straight. Only then, assuming he isn’t lying about his absence, we can see how honest John Harbaugh was yesterday.