Dennis Pitta

[drigby1]

Saw him Friday. Hip is good he says, but team Doctors have not approved him yet? Any news?

[MissRay27]

Wishing the very best for Dennis always!

[rmw10]

No news other than what you've already stated.  He did some work on the side in minicamps, but wasn't cleared for OTAs.  It's anyone's best guess at this point.

[The Raven]

I wonder why team doctors have't cleared him yet. Concerning to me.

[RayRocks]

My guess is the team knows it's a huge risk to let him play again.  It's already likely that he won't be able to walk in 20 years, let alone the risk for re-injury.  I'm not saying that he'll never play again, but they're likely to take their time before making any final decisions.

[1/28/01]

My guess is the team knows it's a huge risk to let him play again. It's already likely that he won't be able to walk in 20 years, let alone the risk for re-injury. I'm not saying that he'll never play again, but they're likely to take their time before making any final decisions.

He'll walk fine in 20 years. Whether it's with a reconstructed hip or a hip replacement, he'll walk.

[ludy51]

He'll walk fine in 20 years. Whether it's with a reconstructed hip or a hip replacement, he'll walk.

Gotta love modern medicine.

[FlackAttack]

we just drafted 2 solid TE's for a reason. its highly unlikely pitta will play again. and i think its for the better.

 

love pitta just as much as the next guy, but its time for him to hang it up.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

He'll walk fine in 20 years. Whether it's with a reconstructed hip or a hip replacement, he'll walk.

Yea I've been wondering where this popular notion that he won't be able to walk has come from.

[January J]

we just drafted 2 solid TE's for a reason. its highly unlikely pitta will play again. and i think its for the better.

. Yes we did - and the reason was so we had an insurance policy. Yeah , the odds are against him- but I guarentee you nobody on that team -including Ozzie and harbaugh - are counting him out. It will be up to Dennis.

[FlackAttack]

. Yes we did - and the reason was so we had an insurance policy. Yeah , the odds are against him- but I guarentee you nobody on that team -including Ozzie and harbaugh - are counting him out. It will be up to Dennis.

 

lol its up to a lot more than just dennis. his doctors, trainers, coaches, nfl policy etc. he's actually the last person that will decide.

[Sons_of_Eli]

Be nice for him if he could safely keep playing, the man has had a lot of undeserved bad luck with injuries. Had such a good connection with Joe too.

[January J]

lol its up to a lot more than just dennis. his doctors, trainers, coaches, nfl policy etc. he's actually the last person that will decide.

it's up to Dennis and Dennis only if he wants to continue making the effort to play.

[ravensnick]

it's up to Dennis and Dennis only if he wants to continue making the effort to play.

Really up to his doctors. He wants to play, desperately, but he may get shut down for his own health. 

[1/28/01]

it's up to Dennis and Dennis only if he wants to continue making the effort to play.

Effort to play, sure. But to actually play, hes the last to decide. Doctors, additional medical staff, team personnel and coaches AND then Dennis will decide IF he plays.

[ellicottraven]

He is trying but we all know he is never going to risk his hip playing football for real. His family won't allow it because he's already banked his money for the year. Why would he play?

[redlobster]

He will be Pup'd then IR'd or just IR'd this year and retire next year, to lessen the cap implications. He will never play another down of football, at least not as a Raven.

[January J]

Effort to play, sure. But to actually play, hes the last to decide. Doctors, additional medical staff, team personnel and coaches AND then Dennis will decide IF he plays.

correct.  he might not even want to make the effort to return, therefore the doctors, medical staff and coaches wouldnt matter. i was saying Dennis (and his family)has to decide whether its worth it and that he even wants to even make the attempt to get into shape and go through all of the doctors assessments etc.

[January J]

He is trying but we all know he is never going to risk his hip playing football for real. His family won't allow it because he's already banked his money for the year. Why would he play?

we dont know any of that. to answer your question how bout his love for the game and to continue living his dream? nobody wants to go out like that.

[FlackAttack]

we dont know any of that. to answer your question how bout his love for the game and to continue living his dream? nobody wants to go out like that.

 

the guy is 30. he's had a decent career, won a super bowl, etc. i think his health right now is more important to him than anything lol... hes done.

[The Mom Gene]

the guy is 30. he's had a decent career, won a super bowl, etc. i think his health right now is more important to him than anything lol... hes done.

Apparently he's not.  He's still hanging on the hope that the doctors will clear him.  I think it's up to him to decide.  None of us know what is going through all of their minds.

[FlackAttack]

Apparently he's not.  He's still hanging on the hope that the doctors will clear him.  I think it's up to him to decide.  None of us know what is going through all of their minds.

 

as mostly everyone else in this thread has mentioned, its up to the medical staff, team doctors, coaches, etc. hes the last to decide, depending on what the doc says. at this point, its pretty obvious doctors haven't cleared him yet, and hes not getting any younger.

 

and say hypothetically if he does comeback, will he even produce like he use to? most likely not. we have a bunch of young talent ready to take over.

[The Mom Gene]

as mostly everyone else in this thread has mentioned, its up to the medical staff, team doctors, coaches, etc. hes the last to decide, depending on what the doc says. at this point, its pretty obvious doctors haven't cleared him yet, and hes not getting any younger.

 

and say hypothetically if he does comeback, will he even produce like he use to? most likely not. we have a bunch of young talent ready to take over.

Yup, time will tell.

[K-Dog]

My concern is is whether or not this got into his head.

The first hip injury stands to reason.  The second made no sense whatsoever. 

IF he is cleared, will he be able to play with the same tenacity as always?

 

If it were me, I would be too scared to risk going through this a third time.

 

I honestly thought he was done for good when he went down on his own.  It really is pretty amazing he even has a possibility of playing again.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

It's pittas decision alone whether he plays. Doctors can only decide to clear him for play not actually decide whether he does play

The doctors don't decide whether he plays or not. They clear him or they don't. If it's healthy enough to play on he's cleared. If it's not he's not. It's not like if it heals well enough to play on they can decide to say hey even though you can play were not going to let you because if you get hurt again there will be long term ramifications. They don't have choice - it's black and white for them - can it be played on or can't it?

The hip will heal enough for him to be cleared at some point. I think he's close now if not already able to be cleared... My guess is that he hasn't made the decision whether he wants to risk it yet or not and to avoid the public scrutiny, and to allow him to make the decision quietly with his family they're not clearing him for full football activities.

I think if he decides he wants to play for sure he'll be cleared immediately and will begin practicing. My belief is that will come right at the start of training camp.

I believe Pitta will play this season, and slowly be worked back in to the lineup.

I really don't get the foregone conclusion that he's done for good and that there's this huge risk to his long term health. I don't think the concern is whether he can play or risking his future health... I think it's all about whether he wants to risk the injury again and having to go through the extensive rehab again.

It takes an extreme physical and mental toll going through that, in fact id say the rehab in coming back from that type of injury is worse than the injury itself. Going through a 3rd year in a row of that is a grueling proposition, and in my opinion what this whole decision hinges on.

[Edgar]

There seems to be almost a consensus of opinion or general feeling around here that Pitta ought not come back. It almost feels as if some of us want him to stay sidelined.

How fast would we turn around in our thinking if God forbid, Maxx or Crockett sustained an injury?

[Tank 92]

If he's cleared by the doctors and decides not to play there certainly must be some sort of impact contractually.

[Edgar]

If he's cleared by the doctors and decides not to play there certainly must be some sort of impact contractually.

Now this is an interesting notion. My sense is that even when/if cleared, he will be cleared with an attached caveat. This caveat being, of course; " you run the risk of it happening again".

Everyone of course realizes that at this point but that brings it back ultimately to the decision to risk a re-injuring being on Dennis.

[RavensFanMania]

He wants to play again but he also knows the risks and for that matter will probably not play again. He will probably be put on the pup list and then IR for this season.

[January J]

It's pittas decision alone whether he plays. Doctors can only decide to clear him for play not actually decide whether he does play

The doctors don't decide whether he plays or not. They clear him or they don't. If it's healthy enough to play on he's cleared. If it's not he's not. It's not like if it heals well enough to play on they can decide to say hey even though you can play were not going to let you because if you get hurt again there will be long term ramifications. They don't have choice - it's black and white for them - can it be played on or can't it?

The hip will heal enough for him to be cleared at some point. I think he's close now if not already able to be cleared... My guess is that he hasn't made the decision whether he wants to risk it yet or not and to avoid the public scrutiny, and to allow him to make the decision quietly with his family they're not clearing him for full football activities.

I think if he decides he wants to play for sure he'll be cleared immediately and will begin practicing. My belief is that will come right at the start of training camp.

I believe Pitta will play this season, and slowly be worked back in to the lineup.

I really don't get the foregone conclusion that he's done for good and that there's this huge risk to his long term health. I don't think the concern is whether he can play or risking his future health... I think it's all about whether he wants to risk the injury again and having to go through the extensive rehab again.

It takes an extreme physical and mental toll going through that, in fact id say the rehab in coming back from that type of injury is worse than the injury itself. Going through a 3rd year in a row of that is a grueling proposition, and in my opinion what this whole decision hinges on.

well said. I don't think the overall consensus is that pitta won't or shouldn't play again- from what I've seen it's almost split down the middle. I was kind of on the fence for a while until I saw the videos of him from ota"s/ minicamp running and cutting. I get that's not a huge deal but the last time I had seen him he was on crutches so it just really put a smile on my face and gave me a little hope. If he does make it back I'm sure he will be used extremely sparingly.