This week so far has been all good news for the Baltimore Ravens. Yesterday, they added wide receiver Jeremy Maclin to the offense, giving Joe Flacco a much-needed, new weapon, and today the Ravens welcomed back tight end Ben Watson to the practice field. This is a major plus for the Ravens, as they recently had to release tight end, Dennis Pitta after he suffered a probable career ending injury by dislocating his hip. The Ravens will need a new tight end to step up and produce big time numbers like Pitta had done last season. The most probable tight end to do this is Watson.
Watson joined the Ravens last offseason, to be the leader of a tight end group that was in need of salvaging. However, during the preseason, Watson tore his Achilles which resulted in him sitting out the entire 2016 season. Watson, a former Saint, was only projected to be with the Ravens for a season or two as a temporary tight end solution. This led to doubts that the Ravens would continue his contract through the 2017 season. However, when Pitta was lost, it became apparent that the Ravens could not afford to lose Watson as well.
If Watson can stay healthy for the rest of this offseason, he will have an opportunity to salvage his career with the Ravens. He will be the new leader of the tight end group, now that Pitta is gone. Watson has shown with other teams that he can be a very productive tight end, and the Ravens are hoping that past productivity still exists with Watson. Watson will need to step up this season, to fill in the void left by Dennis Pitta in the passing game.
