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With an immediate need for tight end depth, the Ravens signed veteran Visanthe Shiancoe on Sunday.
Shiancoe visited the Ravens' facility on Friday and watched practice with general manager Ozzie Newsome. There appeared to be interest from both parties, which certainly increased after Dennis Pitta dislocated and fractured his hip on Saturday.
For his career, Shiancoe has 2,677 yards and 27 touchdowns. His best season, statistics-wise, came in 2009 with Minnesota as he caught 11 touchdowns from quarterback Brett Favre.
The Ravens announced that Shiancoe will join his new teammates for the remainder of Sunday's practice, which started at 2:30 p.m.
Shiancoe had a brief stint with the Patriots a season ago but didn't record a catch. His last NFL reception, with the Vikings and against the Lions, was on Dec. 11, 2011. Shiancoe hauled in an eight-yard catch from Joe Webb. Shiancoe did record a touchdown that game as well.
Shiancoe won't be handed the No. 2 tight end job by any means. He'll still compete with Billy Bajema and undrafted rookie Matt Furstenburg for one of the tight end spots on the roster.
Shiancoe has local ties as he played college football at Morgan State. He was drafted in the third round of the 2003 by the New York Giants, the team he spent his first four NFL seasons with.
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