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.

As he enters his second NFL season, Crockett Gillmore acknowledges that he has a lot to learn, but he has become the leader of the league's youngest tight end group out of necessity. When the Ravens open the regular season against the Denver Broncos on Sunday at Sports Authority Field, they can look to the opposite sideline for a reminder of the young movement that they've undergone at the tight end position.

In the past three years, the Ravens have gone from having one of the older rosters in the NFL to being in the middle of the pack.

The Ravens drafted Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams in the second round after a trade with the Arizona Cardinals, sending a fifth-round pick to move up three spots.

The departure of Torrey Smith means that all of Joe Flacco's weapons from the Super Bowl XLVII-winning team are now gone.

There was no big youth movement this offseason like there was last year, but when the Baltimore Ravens open up the 2014 campaign, they could again boast of having a relatively young team.

Veteran tight end Dallas Clark will officially retire as an Indianapolis Colt on Wednesday, the team announced.

During an hour-plus talk at the NFL owners meetings, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh revealed that Kelechi Osemele will likely play left guard and labeled Rick Wagner the favorite at right tackle.

After struggling to establish himself in three seasons with the Ravens, wide receiver Tandon Doss has taken his act to Jacksonville.

Since signing with the Ravens, Steve Smith has told anyone who will listen that he's not the final piece of the team's championship puzzle.

The NFL's annual free-agency spending spree officially gets underway Tuesday, with the Ravens in a slightly different position than in the recent past.

North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron and Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro are both scheduled to meet with the Ravens tonight at the NFL scouting combine.

The NFL's annual offseason free agent spending spree won't officially get underway until March 11, but the Ravens will have a $6.7 million decision to make within the next couple of weeks.

The NFL scouting combine is in a couple of weeks, unofficially starting the league's silly season. But even though the NFL draft is still three long months away, draft analysts continue to update their mock drafts.

Although the Ravens have targeted wide receiver as a position they want to upgrade this offseason, that's unlikely to be done at the expense of the tight end spot.

The Ravens made it official, naming Steve Spagnuolo as secondary coach and hiring tight ends coach Brian Pariani as tight ends coach.

Between practices Wednesday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, The Baltimore Sun conducted the following interview with Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta.

Iowa's imposing C.J. Fiedorowicz is playing in the Senior Bowl and has impressed NFL scouts and coaches this week with his blend of size and mobility.

Veteran linebacker Terrell Suggs said early in the season that he'd love to be one of those rare guys who plays his entire career in one place but the next couple of months will put that to the test.

The Ravens want to keep Dennis Pitta and the surest way for them to do it might be to use the franchise tag on the play-making tight end.

As wide receiver Anquan Boldin thrived with the San Francisco 49ers this season with 85 receptions with 1,179 yards and seven touchdowns, the Ravens were simply unable to replace his physical presence outside.

John Harbaugh met with the Baltimore media Tuesday to talk about his first non-winning season as Ravens' head coach and where his team will go from here.

Following a disappointing 8-8 season in which the Ravens failed to qualify for the playoffs after making it the previous five seasons under coach John Harbaugh, they face another challenging offseason filled with difficult personnel and salary cap decisions.

The Ravens signed eight members of their practice squad to reserve-future deals today. That includes former University of Maryland tight end Matt Furstenburg, who finished the season on the practice-squad injured list after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia.

Finally, in Sunday's 34-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens were able to use tight end Dennis Pitta as they originally envisioned before training camp kicked off.

The quiet season of Ravens running back Ray Rice reached another low point Sunday when he stood on the sideline for nearly the entire first half.

Ravens starting defensive lineman Arthur Jones was scratched for today's regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium due to a concussion.

It's been three games since Ravens veteran tight end Dallas Clark has played in a game.

Ravens veteran wide receiver Brandon Stokley is calling it a career after 397 catches for 5,339 yards and 39 touchdowns and sustaining multiple concussions.

Something unusual happened Sunday involving Ravens kicker Justin Tucker.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco will wear a protective brace for today's game against the New England Patriots at M&T Bank Stadium.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco made it through the final full practice of the week without further injuring his sprained left knee. Flacco, who practiced on a limited basis all week while wearing a brace on his left knee, was listed as questionable on the injury report but on Sunday is expected to make his 108th consecutive start.

As the Ravens started their final full-scale practice before Sunday's showdown against the New England Patriots at M&T Bank Stadium, quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice were both on the field.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is practicing for the second consecutive day after suffering a low-grade sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee Monday night against the Detroit Lions. Flacco is wearing a protective brace on his left knee this week in practice and will do so Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Although the Ravens left little doubt that quarterback Joe Flacco will line up Sunday against the New England Patriots despite an minor sprained left knee, he won¿t do so without taking a precautionary measure. A magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed that Flacco suffered a low-grade sprain of his medial collateral ligament, according to a source. Consequently, Flacco will wear a protective brace on his knee Sunday for the first time in his NFL career after being fitted for the equipment and started using it Wednesday during a light workout where he wasn¿t limping noticeably.

Each week, Baltimore Sun reporters Aaron Wilson and Matt Vensel will look back at the Ravens' previous game and that of their next opponent.

Fullback Vonta Leach was an afterthought during Monday night's 18-16 win over the Detroit Lions, Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta played fewer snaps and more observations after looking at the official snap counts.

Following a week where he created unwanted headlines when he called Detroit Lions star Calvin Johnson "pretty old," Elam intercepted a Matthew Stafford pass in the final minute to preserve the Ravens' 18-16 victory Monday night at Ford Field.

Ravens strong-side linebacker Elvis Dumervil is active for tonight's game against the Detroit Lions.

The Ravens' pass rush has been silenced, failing to record a sack and only hitting the quarterback five times during the past two games.

Dennis Pitta made his season debut in Sunday's 29-26 win over the Minnesota Vikings and the Ravens tight end played 36 of the team's 85 offensive snaps and had six catches for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Marlon Brown, an undrafted free agent, secured the football, then dragged his feet inbounds at the back of the end zone. After a brief review, officials confirmed it was a touchdown.

Ravens outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil has been ruled out of today's game against the Minnesota Vikings at M&T Bank Stadium after not practicing all week.