Pitta deserves proper Ravens sendoff

ven though he was on crutches, former Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta managed to dance around the inevitable retirement question during a brief session with reporters Thursday at the Under Armour Performance Center.

He just wouldn’t come right out and say that his impressive NFL career is over after a third hip dislocation and surgery, though it almost certainly is. Presumably, he just wanted to save the actual announcement for a more formal setting, which would make perfect sense.

Pitta deserves a proper sendoff, so the next time

Eanyone should want to see him on the field is when the Ravens induct him into the team’s Ring of Honor. Of course, that isn’t a slam dunk. Pitta spent seven seasons with the Ravens, but the repeated hip injuries limited him to less than half that time as Joe Flacco’s go-to tight end. No one could make the case that he’s a Hall of Fame player — he never made the Pro Bowl nor was he named All-Pro — but there’s a lot about his story that makes the big Ring at M&T Bank Stadium seem appropriate.

Pitta had a breakout season in 2012 and came up big in