It's not just wide receiver Steve Smith Sr.'s future that is in doubt after a torn Achilles.
The Ravens' other injured veteran star, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, hasn't spoken about his future since his season ended in Week 1 in Denver.
Suggs has flown under the radar since that point, but Head Coach John Harbaugh was asked on Monday about his conversations with Suggs about his future.
"I've texted him a little bit – probably two or three times," Harbaugh said. "He's not the kind of guy that you have a lot of communication with. If you know Terrell, that's just how he operates.
"That's kind of between him and [General Manager] Ozzie [Newsome] right now, as far as where the rehab is at and what he's doing. I trust him, and I trust he's doing everything he has to do to get himself back."
Nobody has explicitly said that Suggs will return in 2016. There were questions about whether the 33-year-old linebacker would hang up his cleats after 13 seasons and now a second Achilles tear.
During training camp, Suggs already spoke about being on the "back nine" of his career and taking it year-by-year in terms of when he would retire.
Harbaugh said he's assuming that Suggs, who signed a contract extension last offseason that makes him a Raven through 2018, will come back next season.
"I never thought that he wouldn't," Harbaugh said. "I talked to him right after it happened, and he told me that this is just another challenge for him to overcome – something along those lines. So, I felt very good about it at that time."
The other question is whether Suggs will be back at the Under Armour Performance Center this season, simply to provide leadership and help some of the younger players develop. The Ravens could use his guidance, sense of humor and intelligence.
Suggs was immobilized for at least six weeks after his surgery, which means he wouldn't have been able to move until about now, even if he had surgery immediately after the Sept. 13 game in Denver.
Harbaugh said he doesn't know if Suggs will be around the building this season.
"Right now, my time is based thinking about what* *we need to do with the guys that [are] here, and when his Achilles is to the point where he can move around and be a part of it, I have every confidence that he'd be here," Harbaugh said.
"I just haven't spent time looking at that. I could, but, really, to be honest with you, it hasn't been a priority right now."
