The Baltimore Ravens made their fifth-consecutive playoff appearance last season and will begin the quest for a sixth when their training camp opens on Wednesday. With Ray Rice now signed to a new five-year contract and Ed Reed expected to return in 2012, Baltimore will return most of its core from last season.

The Ravens won the AFC North with a 12-4 record and advanced to the AFC Championship game last season before losing to the New England Patriots. They were able to re-sign the majority of their key free agents, including Rice, and selected former Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw in the second round of the NFL Draft.

The biggest question mark for the Ravens as their 2012 training camp begins is the status of injured linebacker Terrell Suggs. Suggs tore his Achillies tendon in May, putting his 2012 season in doubt. Despite questions, Suggs continues to maintain that he will return this season, possibly as soon as October.

Even without Suggs for part of or even the entire 2012 season, the Ravens are once again expected to be among the contenders in the AFC.

For more on the Baltimore Ravens, visit SB Nation's Ravens blog, Baltimore Beatdown.