With Nick Boyle being suspended, is there a window of opportunity for Dennis Pitta to play again?

Baltimore Ravens tight end Nick Boyle was suspended on Friday for using performance enhancing drugs and he will miss the first-ten games of the 2016 regular season and will not be paid during that time. Boyle can still participate in all offseason activities and preseason activities as well.

However, with Boyle's absence for the first-ten games in the 2016 regular season, will this open the door for tight end Dennis Pitta to play again? That is unlikely given the fact that the Ravens are looking for players who can be available and there are too many questions about Pitta's health at this point in time.

Pitta still wants to play football as he noted via Glenn Clark Radio.

Pitta did not play at all during the 2015 season and his career remains in doubt. In fact, the last time Pitta played was in week 3 of the 2014 season where he dealt with his second significant hip injury in a little over a year. The first time Pitta injured his hip was in training camp during the 2013 season.

But despite the hurdles Pitta has to go through to make sure he is healthy enough to play, the desire to play for his teammates and the Ravens organization is still there.

Pitta also knows that the situation isn't all in his hands as he discussed his situation via Glenn Clark Radio.

"Now, if it happens or not, I don't know yet, and as much as I want to be on the field, there's also an element of being smart and weighing the risks, which there certainly are big risks in my case," Pitta said. "I'm going to do everything on my end to get out there and play, but it's not all in my hands. Some of it will be involving the doctors and what they have to say also."

Pitta's salary cap number is 7.2 million dollars in 2016 and 7.7 million dollars in the 2017 and 2018 seasons respectively. That's a lot of money tied up in a player who's career is up in the air. When healthy, Pitta is not only a favorite target for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, but he is also one of the best tight ends in the league.

As Pitta said, his doctors are involved and if they say he shouldn't play, then his playing days are probably over. The Ravens are prepared for that scenario as they have Maxx Williams and Crockett Gillmore at the tight end position and both players showed flashes of having quality careers during the 2015 season.

The Ravens would love to have Pitta back and so would a lot of people including me. But even though Boyle is suspended to start off the 2016 regular season, that situation doesn't move the needle in any way shape or form in Pitta's case. The Ravens want Pitta on the field if he is good to go. But they don't need him at the moment.