The Baltimore Ravens annual OTA practices haven’t been going well when it comes to injuries as it appears they may have lost enough key starter for perhaps the season on Friday.
According to statement released by Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, veteran tight end Dennis Pitta re-injured his troublesome right hip during Friday’s practice and is currently being evaluated to determine the severity of it.
Statement from Ozzie Newsome: “In unfortunate news, Dennis Pitta re-injured his hip at today’s OTA session.” pic.twitter.com/Ch7MteEjIi
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) June 2, 2017
Pitta’s injury happened just one day after Ravens starting nickel cornerback Tavon Young tore his ACL during practice.
Pitta originally injured his hip during the Ravens 2013 training camp but fortunately was able to return to action very late that season. He re-injured that right hip early in the 2014 regular season and it resulted in him being lost for the year. That injury carried over into the 2015 season and Pitta failed to play in a game as a result.
Last season, Pitta returned to action and played the entire season on his way to registering some career reception numbers. He caught 86 passes for 729 yards and two touchdowns in 2016 in his 12 starts.
Pitta’s latest injury might end his career. If he winds up being lost for the season, it will be interesting to see if the Ravens consider signing current free agent tight end Gary Barnidge.
The Ravens currently have five other tight ends on their 90-man roster and that list of players includes Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams, Benjamin Watson, Darren Waller and Nick Boyle.
Watson, however, is still recovering from a torn Achilles that he suffered during Week 1 of the 2016 regular season. Williams also isn’t practicing yet this offseason as he’s still rehabbing from knee surgery and like Watson, he landed on the team’s Reserve/Injured list last season. As for Gillmore, he was limited to seven games in 2016 because of back, hamstring and thigh issues.
UPDATE:
