BALTIMORE _ Kaare Vedvik, the Ravens kicking prospect from Norway, might have lost his chance to play in the NFL this year after suffering injuries during still-mysterious circumstances early Saturday in East Baltimore.
"It was disappointing for him because I think it cost him a chance to kick in this league," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "He had a shot. There was plenty of trade talk and things like that. It's a lesson for everybody."
Vedvik, 24, was found suffering from head and upper body injuries around 4 a.m. Saturday in the 2000 block of Boone St., in the Midway neighborhood of East Baltimore. It's a street of several boarded-up homes a block north of Green Mount Cemetery.
Police, Harbaugh and Vedvik's sister have all said they still do not know the details of how the injuries occurred. Two law enforcement sources told The Baltimore Sun that Vedvik had injuries consistent with being assaulted.
A police report is not expected to be available until Tuesday, a department spokesperson said Monday.
"He told me what he could remember, what happened," Harbaugh said. "It's not for me to get into the details about that. He's trying to remember as best he can."
Harbaugh said Vedvik was still "out of it" when he met with him in the hospital Sunday along with Darren Sanders, the Ravens vice president of security. Harbaugh said Vedvik's "swollen" face was "kind of stitched up."
"My dad said, 'Nothing good ever happens after midnight,' and it was well after midnight," the Ravens coach said. "We'll be talking to the young guys next year, I guess. Be a little smarter, be a little more aware of your surroundings, don't be by yourself, and understand that there are people out there that have maligned intentions."
Vedvik's sister in their hometown of Stavanger, Norway, said in a telephone interview that she had spoken to her older brother Monday.
"He's doing good," said Louise Vedvik, a 21-year-old student in Norway. "I wish I could be there with him. He needs time to rest."
She said Vedvik did not explain what caused the injuries.
Vedvik, a kicker and punter from Norway who impressed in the preseason, was placed on the Ravens' reserve non-football injury list Saturday.
The undrafted rookie came to the United States as an exchange student and played football at a Kansas high school. He later punted and kicked off for Marshall University.
Vedvik played soccer growing up in Norway and got hooked on the NFL when he watched the Super Bowl about seven years ago, The Sun reported in July.
Vedvik's Instagram account has relayed his enthusiasm about playing in the preseason for the Ravens. "Dreams to reality..!" he posted on Instagram Aug. 3, a day after playing in the preseason game against the Chicago Bears. "Played in my first NFL game, won & got to meet my fellow Norwegian HoF'er."
He was referring to meeting Jan Stenerud, a Hall of Fame NFL kicker from Norway who helped the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl in January 1970.
His sister left a comment of clapping-hands emojis under the post.
"He's my brother. It's not a fun situation at all," she said in a telephone interview. "It's not really that clear what happened."
Harbaugh said everyone was thankful that Vedvik would recover.
"We're just grateful and I think he was very thankful for the fact that he's OK," Harbaugh said. "He's going to be fine, and that's the most important thing."
