Ravens Notes: TEs And Backup QBs

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke with reporters today, and while there were no “major revelations,” he did indicate that the team is still talking to free agent tight ends Ed Dickson and Owen Daniels, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The team is looking for a complement to No. 1 tight end Dennis Pitta, who recently signed a five-year extension with the club.

It is unclear if the team prefers Dickson or Daniels at this point. Dickson has generally underperformed and has struggled with drops since the Ravens drafted him in 2010, so Daniels would present a significant upgrade from a pure talent standpoint. However, Daniels is five years older and has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, so Baltimore would be taking a gamble with him as well.

A few early mock drafts predicted that North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron would fall to the Ravens in the draft, but now it is generally believed that he will be off the board before the Ravens are on the clock with the No. 17 overall pick.

A few more quick notes from Charm City:

  • Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the team is “in discussions” with several veteran backup QBs. Wilson does not indicate who those veteran backups might be, but it became clear that the Ravens would look to bring in legitimate competition for current backup Tyrod Taylor when it was revealed that they had spoken to Brandon Weeden before he signed with the Cowboys. The top QBs still available include Matt Flynn, Josh Freeman, and Rex Grossman.
  • In a separate tweet, Zrebiec notes that it is worth keeping an eye on the Texans’ quarterback situation. Houston currently has three quarterbacks on the roster–Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, and T.J. Yates–and is likely to draft a QB in the early rounds of the draft, so it appears as if at least one of Keenum or Yates will become available. Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak is of course familiar with both players, and Baltimore seems to have a penchant for acquiring Houston’s cast-offs and successfully integrating them into its roster.
  • The Ravens signed newly-acquired center Jeremy Zuttah to a five-year extension shortly after trading for him, an extension that lessened Zuttah’s 2014 cap hit to $1.7MM. Baltimore now has $6.971MM to work with, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com.
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