Dennis Pitta was able to laugh off his injury.
The veteran tight end left early from Monday's practice at M&T Bank Stadium because of a sprained finger that he sustained while in a scuffle with rookie linebacker Kamalei Correa. The injury will sideline Pitta "a little while," Head Coach John Harbaugh said, but there wasn't too much concern in the Ravens' locker room after practice.
"Nothing serious," Pitta said. "I won't miss much time, but obviously we'll have to be cautious this time of the year and make sure it fully heals so I can get back out there."
Pitta walked out of the training room while his good friend Joe Flacco was talking with reporters about the practice fight. The quarterback looked up to Pitta and decided to hassle him about the finger injury.
"He got his little baby injury that he always gets in camp and gets himself out of a week in camp," Flacco joked. "That's better than breaking his hip though, so I'm cool with that. Put him on the sideline for a little bit and protect him a little bit."
Practice fights are fairly common in training camps around the NFL, but Pitta isn't typically one to find himself in the fray. He said he hasn't been in a practice scuffle since college.
"Normally I don't have a lot of reasons to fight people, but I felt like there was a reason," Pitta said. "Without going into detail, I felt like there was some after-the-whistle stuff that wasn't necessary. Me and KC [Correa] talked about it so we're already good."
Monday's practice was easily the most physical of training camp. The tussle between Pitta and Correa was one of four on the night, and the rookie linebacker caught the attention of his veteran teammates with his physical play.
"I'm just playing football," Correa said. "It's a game of football and you have to be physical, because if you ain't, then you're going to get hit upside your head. I'm just out there playing football. I ain't trying to hurt nobody. I'm just doing as I'm asked."
Correa also put a big hit on wide receiver Mike Wallace over the middle after the fight with Pitta, which brought Flacco out to the defensive huddle to get in his face. Nothing escalated when Flacco ran out to speak his mind to the rookie.
"He's our quarterback. He's the leader. I can't say anything," Correa said. "I'm just out there. He says something – he's a captain, he's a leader, he's Joe Flacco – hey man, I can't do anything."
