The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... It’s still too early to know exactly when Pitta will be back on Sundays, but he’s back alongside his teammates at practice and feeling pretty good. Those ruling him out for 2015 should take pause. Asked point blank whether he’ll play this season, Pitta rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I’m optimistic,” he said. “I feel good. But obviously it’s a process. I have an idea in mind of where I’d like to be in a couple months, but at the same time you don’t know. I know what it felt like to do this one time. I’ve never known what it felt like to do it twice.”
Diehards Line:
Indeed, when speaking with season ticket holders on a conference call Tuesday, HC John Harbaugh said Pitta “has a chance.” But it's just that. Remember, the Ravens approached the NFL Draft as if Pitta wasn’t going to be on the roster. But as the team nears OTAs, the outlook is getting brighter. It’s been seven months and three weeks since Pitta collapsed to the ground in a Week 3 game against the Cleveland Browns. This time, he wasn’t touched, yet still suffered a second dislocated and fractured hip, requiring season-ending surgery. There were immediate questions about whether Pitta would ever play again, let alone this season. At this point, doctors are letting him push it as much as he’s comfortable with. In terms of the injury being healed, Pitta is 100 percent. In terms of him being back in football shape, he’s not there yet. He can run and cut, he said. He’s running routes and catching passes. “I’m certainly encouraged by what I’m able to do on the field,” he said. While Pitta hopes to be on the field this fall, fantasy owners should take a wait-and-see approach.