Dennis Pitta Is Participating in Minicamp

Dennis Pitta is being given a full bill of health. At least for now.

The veteran tight end is on the field for minicamp drills, which while it doesn't have all of the physical contact of the preseason and summer training camp, it at least means that Pitta is able to run without being affected by his hip.

The Ravens are still keeping their cards close to the vest on how they feel on the health of Dennis Pitta and whether they think he can play again. (At least with their words, their actions tell a different story, but that's for another day)

This shouldn't be taken as a sign that Pitta will be back on the field for 2015. Pitta was given the green light in 2014 and was able to participate fully in training camp and the preseason before re-injuring his hip without getting tackled in Week Three. And barring retirement, Pitta will be on the Ravens payroll, whether it's on the 53 man roster or on Injured Reserve. I'd take this as a sign that Pitta is still able to be physically active after two consecutive hip locations. And that's fine with me.

We should also point out that despite the ability to run and a clean bill of health, fans and the team should take into account the mental aspect of these injuries on Pitta. The tight end went down twice with the same injury in excruciatingpain and will likely be a little 'gun-shy' about going all out even on the practice field. Even with him at 100% health, Baltimore could still be missing Pitta if he just isn't mentally able to go.

However, the Ravens have done a good job of planning on the eventual departure of Pitta, either through injury or through more normal circumstances. The Ravens have Crockett Gillmore on the roster from last year's NFL Draft and then came out of this year's NFL Draft with two new tight ends, Maxx Williams and Nick Boyle. If Pitta is unable to go for whatever reason, you can be sure that the Ravens will be in good hands with their current depth chart at the tight end spot.