billy bajema

Mississippi's Laquon Treadwell might be the draft's best receiver, but he's hardly a sure thing.

Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta has decided not to play this season after doctors told him it would be unsafe to do so. Team officials and the coaching staff were on the side of the doctors. And, I'm guessing, so were even the most diehard fans of Baltimore football.

Meanwhile, the Ravens are still waiting for Dennis Pitta, their top tight end, to return to the football field.

Looking at which Baltimore Ravens got a lot of playing time and which Ravens rode the pine in the first seven games of the 2013 season. Only five players, including middle linebacker Daryl Smith, have played every snap.

After being sidelined for more than 10 months with a spinal cord injury, Ravens weak-side linebacker Jameel McClain returned to the field Sunday. And he didn't just play. McClain started and played a major role in the 19-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Inactive for the past two games, much-maligned left tackle Bryant McKinnie has been traded to the Miami Dolphins.

The Ravens scratched veteran offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie for the second consecutive game, an unsurprising move.

The Ravens have activated veteran inside linebacker Jameel McClain from the reserve-physically unable to perform list and cut tight end Billy Bajema heading into Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Ravens' offense was flagged for four false starts against the Packers on Sunday, including offensive guards Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele committing the infraction on consecutive plays in the third quarter.

One positive development from Sunday's 19-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers was the return of injured wide receiver Jacoby Jones, who returned kickoffs and made an 11-yard touchdown reception. The Ravens limited his usage, though. Jones played just 17 offensive snaps and six snaps on special teams. More on that and other snap count observations.

The Ravens have re-signed tight end Billy Bajema and cut running back Shaun Draughn.

Each week, Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston will answer questions from readers about the Ravens.

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Tandon Doss got the start in Sunday's 26-23 win over the Miami Dolphins and he played a career-high 50 snaps in the victory.

Following the Ravens' trade for offensive tackle Eugene Monroe and financial arrangement with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the defending Super Bowl champions are $1.033 million under the NFL salary-cap limit of $123 million.

Left tackle Eugene Monroe passed his physical, completing his trade to the Ravens for two draft picks.

Ravens running back Ray Rice received a heavy workload in Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The Ravens are $1.219 million under the NFL salary cap of $123 million. That figure includes a $1.089 million salary-cap figure for new safety Jeromy Miles.

With Ray Rice parked on the sideline in street clothes after suffering a hip injury last weekend, Bernard Pierce made his first NFL start Sunday against the Houston Texans. Predictably, it was his busiest afternoon to date. Here is a deeper look at that and other observations from the NFL's official snap counts.

So far this season, the Ravens aren't getting the kind of big plays that other NFL tight ends are producing, or the kind of reliability they are accustomed to from the position.

Jim Caldwell is a strong proponent of the no-huddle, calling it on 33 of 71 offensive snaps as the shotgun formation was used 25 times.

A week after Michael Huff struggled in a loss the Denver Broncos, rookie Matt Elam, the team's first-round pick in April¿s NFL draft, replaced Huff as the starting free safety in Sunday's 14-6 win over the Cleveland Browns. Elam played all 63 defensive snaps.

Ravens star running back Ray Rice suffered a strained left hip flexor Sunday in the fourth quarter of a 14-6 win over the Cleveland Browns.

The Ravens don't have much wiggle room with $1.957 million available under the NFL salary-cap limit of $123 million.

We knew the Ravens would be in the nickel a lot against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. They probably had to use it even more than expected as the Broncos went three-wide on more than 75 percent of their plays. As a result, Jimmy Smith, Corey Graham and Lardarius Webb played significant snaps.

Ravens defensive lineman Arthur Jones remains sidelined with an undisclosed illness.

The Ravens have also released undrafted rookie offensive tackle J.J. Unga and undrafted rookie defensive lineman Cody Larson.

The Ravens' front office has earned plenty of praise for their decisions during the draft but it is also in the minutes after the final pick has been made, a period that assistant general manager Eric DeCosta equated to a "feeding frenzy," where the organization has historically done some of its best work.

The Ravens terminated the contract of veteran tight end Visanthe Shiancoe and released reserve offensive lineman Ramon Harewood, a former starter.

Each Wednesday, blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Ravens.

There were no practices to be at, no meetings to attend but nothing seemed particularly amiss until the 34-year-old looked down at his watch and realized how much his life has changed.

Wanting to add more depth at wide receiver and give quarterback Joe Flacco a couple of reliable, veteran targets, the Ravens struck deals with wide receiver Brandon Stokley and tight end Dallas Clark, two former Indianapolis Colts who have familiarity with offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell.

Matt Vensel recaps Baltimore Ravens training camp for August 10, 2013.

Two days after his team's preseason-opening 44-16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an ornery John Harbaugh was the star of practice.

The Ravens defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Thursday night's preseason opener. While many of the starters only played a quarter, they were in there long enough to make a few observations about when and how certain players were being used and what formations the Ravens were lining them up in.

When the Ravens quietly brought back veteran blocking tight end Billy Bajema on a one-year, $840,000 contract in June, it wasn't a high-profile signing.

So, Furstenburg should see plenty of playing time Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers behind veterans Visanthe Shiancoe and Billy Bajema.