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OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Wide receiver Breshad Perriman looked up to the ceiling and tilted his head to the side when asked whether he understood why he was benched last Sunday by the Baltimore Ravens. "Yeah, I understand. I do understand," Perriman said Wednesday. "I don't totally agree with it. But I understand why it happened. All I can control is me working hard every week and throughout practice and having it roll over to the game." Perriman was a healthy scratch on Sunday after he managed just seven catches for 54 yards and no touchdowns in eight games. The No. 26 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Perriman could be on his way to being among the franchise's biggest draft busts. For Perriman's career, passes thrown his way have resulted in twice as many interceptions (six) as touchdowns (three). Perriman has never eclipsed 64 yards receiving in a game.  Ravens coach John Harbaugh said making Perriman inactive for a game could be a way for the struggling receiver to reset and catch his breath. "I'm hoping," Perriman said. "It's definitely going to be used as motivation. Any time you're out there, it's got to be some type of motivation." With Perriman a healthy inactive for the first time in his career, the Ravens went with Michael Campanaro and Chris Moore as the No. 3 receiver behind starters Mike Wallace and Jeremy Maclin on Sunday. Harbaugh wouldn't say when Perriman would be active for a game again, but he did offer his support. "I do believe in Breshad," Harbaugh said. "I do believe he is going to play well, and he will be back up just as soon as it makes the most sense for us to win the game, and it could be this week. We have not decided that yet." Perriman has been known to lack confidence when he has gone through adversity in the past. A season-ending knee injury in his rookie season left Perriman in a self-described "dark hole" in which he "shut everyone out." Do the Ravens need to make sure they keep Perriman's spirits up? "That's a struggle throughout the year that you deal with on both sides of the ball, and with multiple players -- not just him," quarterback Joe Flacco said. "Everybody deals with that. I think more than that I, and his teammates, can rally around him and remind him of those things -- then yes, it's definitely going to pay benefits in the future, and it starts with me." The Ravens have some questions on how they'll handle Perriman after the season. Baltimore isn't expected to pick up his fifth-year option, which means Perriman would have one year remaining on his rookie deal. If the Ravens cut Perriman in 2018, it would free up $1.622 million in cap space and create $1.147 in dead money. "It's definitely a test," Perriman said. "I've been through a lot of tests throughout my career, my life in general. I'm not worrying too much about it. I know I'll overcome it. I'll come back from this test better."
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