OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens welcomed back a number of key players for this week’s mandatory minicamp, but one veteran who had been practicing throughout the spring was not participating on Tuesday.
Attempting to return to the NFL after two serious right hip injuries in two years, tight end Dennis Pitta had taken part in voluntary organized team activity workouts on a limited basis this spring, but he has not been medically cleared to participate in minicamp. Head coach John Harbaugh and others have said throughout offseason that Pitta’s status for the 2015 season will not be determined until later this summer, but Tuesday was a reminder of how far he still has to go to return to action — if it happens at all.
Pitta watched Tuesday’s practice from the sideline.
“A couple things are going to have to happen for him to play, ultimately,” Harbaugh said. “No. 1, he’s going to have to be cleared by the doctors, and No. 2, he’s going to have to decide he wants to play, because, obviously, there will be some risk involved. The first thing hasn’t happened, yet. He hasn’t been cleared by the doctors. He has been going through — as you saw before — the individual part of practice.”
During OTAs, Pitta caught passes and did light agility work with the other Ravens tight ends, but he was relegated to working on his own during the team portions of practices. Baltimore has proceeded this offseason as though Pitta would not be able to play in 2015 and drafted Max Williams in the second round and Nick Boyle in the fifth round of this year’s draft after making Crockett Gillmore a third-round selection last year.
With the soon-to-be 30-year-old Pitta not participating in minicamp, he remains eligible to begin the summer on the physically unable to perform list. The 2010 fourth-round pick’s $4 million base salary for the 2015 season is fully guaranteed.
“Unless you’re cleared, you can’t come out to [minicamp] practice,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t know if that’s a rule or a policy, but that’s the way it goes. Until he gets cleared by the doctors, he won’t be able to practice, and we’ll just have to see where that goes from here.”
While several veterans such as linebackers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil and guard Marshal Yanda made their 2015 practice field debuts on the first day of mandatory minicamp, the Ravens were still without a number of players including starting center Jeremy Zuttah (hip), starting right tackle Rick Wagner (foot), rookie guard Robert Myers (shoulder), and wide receivers Michael Campanaro (quadriceps), Aldrick Robinson (knee), and Cam Worthy.
Harbaugh confirmed all players missing from the practice field on Tuesday were dealing with some type of physical ailment, but he would not go into further detail.
“I don’t really remember what it is. It might be the shoulder,” said Harbaugh when asked specifically about the 2015 fifth-rounder Myers. “But all those guys that weren’t practicing today have some tweak. They’re not practicing.”
