The Ravens had about the worst possible sight during Saturday's practice, as tight end Dennis Pitta was carted off the field after suffering a dislocated hip.
The fourth-year tight end will miss at least the regular-season opener against Denver on Sept. 5.
ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that Pitta will miss the entire 2013 season. A source told Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun that Pitta was not definitively ruled out for the entire season, but that "it doesn't look good."
"Dennis has a dislocated hip," Head Coach John Harbaugh announced after practice. "We'll have to take a look at it and see exactly what it is. It's a situation, it's a serious injury and he's going to be out for a while. He will not be in the Denver game, and we'll just have to play it from there and see how long it goes."
Pitta reportedly went into surgery Saturday night, according to the Sun.
Pitta went down after he collided with safety James Ihedigbo on a jump ball in the back of the end zone. Several trainers tended to Pitta after the play, and then helped him onto the back of a cart. Pitta had a towel over his head as he was carted into the training room.
The Ravens were counting on Pitta to be one of the most valuable weapons in the passing game this year, especially with the trade of Anquan Boldin this offseason. The two were quarterback Joe Flacco's top go-to targets last year.
Pitta finished last season with 61 catches for 669 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns. Pitta added 14 catches for 163 yards and three touchdowns in the playoffs.
"Obviously he has been a very, very productive guy for us, and he's made a lot of big plays around here," Offensive Coordinator Jim Caldwell said. "We'll see what happens. Somebody is going to have to step up and we do have some capable guys all across the flanks."
Fellow fourth-year tight end Ed Dickson is the next man up to be the team's No. 1 tight end. He has starting experience over the last two seasons, and has been a valuable weapon in the passing game. He has 75 catches over the last two seasons.
The other tight ends on the roster are veteran Billy Bajema, first-year player Alex SIlvestro and undrafted rookie Matt Furstenburg. Bajema was the team's No. 3 tight end last season, but was not utilized in the passing game.
The Ravens also had veteran tight end Visanthe Shiancoe in for a visit Friday.
They could also turn to young receivers like Tandon Doss, Deonte Thompson, David Reed, LaQuan Williams or Tommy Streeter to help make up the production in the passing game.
"We do have some weapons," Caldwell said. "And we're just going to have to have some guys make some plays for us."
