Baltimore Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta has had some hard luck since entering the NFL via the fourth-round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
After dislocating his hip not once, but twice, Pitta's NFL career is squarely in jeopardy meaning he's no longer a player Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and GM Ozzie Newsome can depend on. With Pitta a question mark and Owen Daniels off to the Denver Broncos, the tight end depth chart in Baltimore is looking might thin.
The Ravens, according to a report from Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun, have a mutual interest with free agent tight end Rob Housler, most recently of the Arizona Cardinals.
"There's mutual interest between the Ravens and veteran free agent tight end Rob Housler, according to league sources," writes Wilson.
"Although no deal has been reached in contract discussions, the two sides are expected to keep talking in search of a financial compromise."
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Housler never posted more than 45 receptions in a season during his four-year NFL career, but seems to have the size, athleticism - he ran the 40-yard-dash in 4.46 seconds at the 2011 scouting combine, per Wilson - and overall skillset to become a legitimate receiving threat for quarterback Joe Flacco.
A former third-round pick out of Florida Atlantic, Housler saw his role decrease last season. He finished the year with just nine receptions for 129 yards in 15 games.
Of course, the Cardinals suffered through some of the worst quarterback play in the league last year after starter Carson Palmer went down with a truly devastating knee injury, so at least some of Housler's dampened production can be explained away by that.
Prior to last year, his receiving totals had continually increased, from 133 yards his rookie season, to 417 yards in 2012 and 454 yards in just 13 games of work in 2013.
He has the physical tools to, along with last year's third-round draft pick, Crockett Gillmore, form a big, athletic tight end tandem for the Ravens.
