After making three outside signings last week, the Ravens began the next wave of free agency by keeping one of their own on Monday morning.
Baltimore agreed to a new three-year deal with three-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard, who’s been a critical blocking piece for a historic rushing attack over the last few seasons. Ricard, 27, officially hit the open market last week, but the Ravens ultimately valued him more than other potential suitors in a league increasingly moving away from fullback usage in recent years. Terms of the deal weren’t immediately available, but it’s believed to be worth roughly $4 million per season, according to The Athletic.
That would maintain Ricard’s status as the NFL’s second-highest-paid fullback behind San Francisco’s Kyle Juszczyk, who played for the Ravens from 2013-16 and has made six straight Pro Bowls.
“Pat Ricard is an important cog in our offense and the type of player we always seek to retain,” general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement released by the team. “We admire his unique skills and the physical presence he brings to the Ravens and look forward to three more years of ‘Project Pat!'”
An undrafted rookie defensive lineman out of Maine in 2017, Ricard quickly gained notoriety by practicing and playing on both sides of the ball over his first couple seasons, but he was named to his first of three straight Pro Bowls as a fullback in 2019 when Baltimore rushed for an incredible 3,296 yards, a new league record. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Ricard abandoned playing defense in 2020 and helped the Ravens eclipse the 3,000-yard rushing mark for a second straight season. And despite season-ending injuries to top running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards before Week 1, Ricard remained a pivotal part of a ground game that still finished third in rushing yards and fifth in yards per carry last season.
Since top blocking tight end Nick Boyle suffered a season-ending knee injury midway through the 2020 campaign, the Ravens have deployed Ricard more frequently as a blocking tight end with Pro Football Focus tracking him as having played 253 of his career-high 555 offensive snaps as an inline tight end — he saw 189 in the backfield and 92 in the slot — last season. Though Ricard has been targeted just 40 times and carried the ball just three times in his five-year career, he’s caught 29 passes for 167 yards and five touchdowns in his limited use as a receiver. With Boyle appearing in just five games last season, the Ravens were forced to lean more heavily than ever on their standout fullback.
“If you look back two years ago [in 2019], I was getting in the 30% of snaps. Now, I’m getting like 60%, 70%,” Ricard said in early December last season. “I think it’s definitely a difference because I can’t just go super all-out every play because I know I’m playing more. But it’s a lot of fun. I can really get in a groove, really get a feel of the game and get a lot of reps, and I enjoy it.”
Back and knee injuries sidelined Ricard for four of the last five games last season, making his workload something to monitor for 2022 and beyond.
