Dennis Pitta Breaks Hand

Tight end Dennis pitta may be out for the entire preseason due to a broken hand suffered in yesterdays practice. Head coach John Harbaugh seems to think the third year tight end will still be ready for week one.

"It looks like he broke his hand," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "It looks like he’ll have to get it repaired in some form or fashion and he should be back for the first regular-season game. That’s very tentative, I’m very ahead of myself."

Hopefully that is not all just wishful thinking. Pitta was fast becoming the favorite target of quarterback Joe Flacco and has shown to be a reliable red zone target. Pitta finished last season with 40 catches for 405 yards and three touchdowns. Most of his production came late in the season as starting tight end Ed Dickson was dropping the ball a bit and Pitta got more in game chances to shine, and boy did he. the last few games of the season Joe would constantly look to Pitta on busted plays and seemed to really show trust in his ability to box out defenders.

Pitta was becoming a vital part of the offense and all of those around the team could see it.

"He’s definitely an important part of our offense," veteran receiver Anquan Boldin said. "I think you saw last year him play a big role, especially when it came down the stretch. Dennis is a guy that can play inside, a guy that we can line up outside, get different mismatches. He’s a nightmare for defenses."

In Pitta's absence tight end Davon Drew will be taking more snaps with the first team and obviously starter Ed Dickson will find himself on the field more and more. hopefully Pitta can be ready for the Cincinnati Bengals come week one of the NFL season. The Ravens could really use his sure hands and versatility.

"We’ve got to step it up," Dickson said. "It’s just like when Todd Heap went out. We didn’t know who was going to be the starter.

"Losing that competition out there, the young guys are going to have to step up. I’m going to have to motivate myself. I’m always working hard, but it was easy having that guy putting pressure on me"