The story out of Baltimore this morning is that the 2011 Defensive Player of the Year, Terrell Suggs, tore his Achilles' tendon either playing basketball or participating in normal offseason workouts.

Suggs is expected to miss the entire 2012 NFL season, but the Ravens will get another opinion before making that call. To his credit, Suggs is saying that it is just a partial tear and that he will return by the end of October. This will be an important story to keep an eye on, as the Ravens travel to San Diego to take on the Chargers on November 25th.

The Ravens have plenty of big name former Pro Bowlers on their defense, but Suggs is arguably the most talented player on their defense and typically has the largest impact on their games. Even being without him for half of the season might be enough to kill the Ravens' hopes of making the playoffs in 2012. They'll hope to try and fill the void in the defense with Paul Kruger, Jameel McClain, Pernell McPhee and Sergio Kindle.