BALTIMORE — After what Dennis Pitta has been through over the last three years, no one would dare make fun of the Ravens tight end suffering another injury, serious or not.
That is, unless you’re Joe Flacco.
The quarterback couldn’t help but take a dig at his best friend on the team after Pitta sprained one of his right fingers in a scuffle with rookie linebacker Kamalei Correa on Monday night. Of course, the injury pales in comparison to the two devastating injuries to his right hip that have limited Pitta to seven games over the last three seasons.
“He got his little baby injury that he always gets at camp and gets himself out of a week in camp,” said Flacco as he cracked a big smile. “That’s better than breaking his hip though, so I’m cool with that. It will put him on the sideline for a little bit and protect him for a little bit.”
Pitta was nearby when Flacco spoke with reporters and was ready with a reply.
The two have underrated senses of humor not often revealed to the media.
“I heard Joe say, ‘It’s a good thing he didn’t break his hip,'” Pitta said, “which isn’t that funny, Joe.”
It was unusual to see both Pitta and Flacco involved in some of the many heated exchanges during Monday’s workout at M&T Bank Stadium as Correa got under the skin of a few offensive players with his physicality. Head coach John Harbaugh later sent linebacker Za’Darius Smith and offensive lineman Ryan Jensen off the field for fighting.
Considered one of the most mild-mannered players on the team, Pitta was asked when was the last time he’d gotten in a training camp scrum.
“In college,” said the seventh-year tight end from Brigham Young as he laughed. “Normally, I don’t have a lot of reasons to fight people, but I felt like there was a reason. Without going into detail, there was some after-the-whistle stuff that wasn’t necessary. Me and K.C. already talked about it, so we’re good.”
Shortly after the scrum with Pitta, Correa delivered a hard shot to wide receiver Mike Wallace, which prompted Flacco to get in the rookie’s face. The sight of the franchise quarterback being unhappy naturally made the Boise State product stand down.
So, what was Flacco’s message to Correa?
“Listen, I’m protected, man. I can say whatever I want to him because I’ve got a big army coming behind me,” said Flacco, trying to hold back laughter. “It wasn’t nice, but I really didn’t have to be scared with a big army coming behind me. I think he was too smart. I challenged him to see if he was willing to come after me a little bit and he made the right decision I think.”
Correa certainly did.
“He’s our quarterback, he’s our leader. I can’t say anything,” said Correa with a slight grin. “I’m just out there [and] he says something. He’s a captain. He’s a leader. He’s Joe Flacco.”
