Ravens don’t expect Dennis Pitta to play in 2015

The Baltimore Ravens signed tight end Dennis Pitta to a five-year contract after the 2013 National Football League season, thinking they had locked up a star for the foreseeable future. Instead, it appears Pitta might have been one of the more disappointing investments in franchise history, through no fault of his own.

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Pitta only played in three games in 2014 before requiring season-ending hip surgery. The Super Bowl-winning tight end then needed another hip surgery this offseason, and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh does not believe Pitta will return this season, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.

"“As far as I’m concerned, you plan for the worst and you hope for the best,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Tuesday. “I’m planning on him not being back. That would be the plan from a football standpoint. And I think he’s planning on being back.“It just comes down to whether it’s a smart thing to do, whether it’s what he wants to do and really what his family wants to do. He and his wife have to make that decision for themselves, and he’s going to get more information I’m sure.”"

Pitta has stated he would like to return, but it seems Baltimore has begun to move on. In the 2015 NFL Draft, general manager Ozzie Newsome took tight end Maxx Williams out of the University of Minnesota, the highest-rated man at the position on most boards. Williams is projected to start in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos.

Baltimore is looking for its third consecutive playofff berth but has some serious issues to overcome. The offense was largely dependent on rookie Breshad Perriman stepping in and replacing Torrey Smith, who left via free agency. Perriman has not practiced in over a month, though, dealing with a knee injury. His timetable to return is unknown.

Without Perriman, Smith or Pitta, the Ravens are relying almost solely on 36-year-old Steve Smith, Justin Forsett and a rookie tight end.