John Harbaugh expects full recovery from Dennis Pitta

There has been some concern about Dennis Pitta and whether he could play football again.

He's suffered the same hip injury two years in a row. That alone would lead some cause for concern with the same exact injury happening again. Hip dislocations are major and take a lot of time to recover from. It would be quite amazing if, in fact, Pitta is able to play next season.

However, that is something Ravens coach John Harbaugh expects. Speaking to reporters during his Monday press conference, Harbaugh said that Pitta should be able to play football again. Of course, it's also on Pitta to decide whether the risk is worth it.

"I've asked a lot of questions about that of the doctors, our trainers and Dennis, and everything I've been told ... And I have to be honest with you, it was surprising to me, because my assumption would be like, ‘Wow, this is twice in a row. It's going to be tough.' But they say it has no bearing on the future ," Harbaugh said. "It heals 100 percent. Dennis can play again. Dennis has told me he wants to play again, and of course, if he wants to play, he'll get every opportunity to play if the medical people clear him. And I've been told, to this point, that they see no reason why he wouldn't be cleared if everything goes according to plan."

What makes it scary for Pitta to return is that he received this kind of assurance after the first hip injury only to suffer the same thing. So if it does heal 100 percent and he gets clearance, who's to say it won't happen again? It already happened once, so regardless of what anyone tells him, there could always be something lingering in his mind that it could happen again.

But if Pitta decides to give it a go, all power to him. It would be tough for him to see his career end this way. Being able to return and get through a healthy season would go a long way for a player that was becoming such an important part to what the Ravens want to do on offense.