The Ravens have suffered another blow at tight end this training camp.
Ed Dickson suffered a slight hamstring tear during Sunday's practice at the Naval Academy and the team is going to rest him for a couple of weeks, Head Coach John Harbaugh announced Monday.
"We're going to hold him back for a week or so, and we'll see where we're at," Harbaugh said. "We'll try to get him healthy. It's going to be a matter of time, but it's not going to be a long time."
The expectation is still that Dickson should be ready for the Week 1 matchup against the Broncos on Sept. 5.
Dickson's injury comes just a week after the Ravens already lost tight end Dennis Pitta for the season with a dislocatedand fractured hip. With Pitta down, the expectation has been that Dickson will take on an increased role in the offense this season.
Dickson is coming off a season where he caught 21 passes for 225 yards and no touchdowns, and he has been vocal about wanting to take on a larger role this season.
Now that Dickson is out for the preseason opener Thursday night against Tampa Bay, veteran Visanthe Shiancoe is next in line to get the start. Shiancoe was signed by the Ravens on July 28, and he has been getting more involved in the offense since that time. Shiancoe worked with the first team during Monday's practice and caught a handful of passes.
The other tight ends on the roster are Billy Bajema, Alex Silvestro and Matt Furstenburg. Harbaugh said that the team has enough depth at the position right now without needing to sign someone before the start of the preseason.
"We have enough tight ends through Thursday [against Tampa Bay], for sure," Harbaugh said. "We'll be fine, and then we'll have to address it there depending on how we get out of that game."
