Ravens Have Intriguing Battle for Third Tight End Behind Andrews and Boyle
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens open their second round of voluntary workouts this week and there is already an intriguing battle for a third tight end.
Second-year tight Eli Wolf looked solid last week and will fight for that final roster spot. He has good hands, especially in traffic in the middle of the field.
Josh Oliver, who was acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a conditional draft pick, also flashed during team drills,
Wolf and Oliver will compete with Eric Tomlinson and Jacob Breeland for a spot on the depth chart behind Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle.
The Ravens also have fullback Pat Ricard, who has also lined up at tight end, and rookie Ben Mason vying for snaps.
"We are a tight end-centric offense, and Mark Andrews, in my opinion, is one of the better tight ends in the entire NFL," Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta said. "He’s a Pro Bowl tight end, in my opinion. So, we would be foolish to not want to try and keep him. Those discussions will start up at some point. Hopefully, we can make progress and get some deals done.”
Josh Oliver at Ravens practice.
Boyle suffered a season-ending knee injury last season. He was back on the practice field last week wearing a t-shirt and did not participate in team drills. Boyle's status could also affect the tight ends room moving forward.
"[Boyle] said he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "He didn’t have to be out there, but he was out there. He was kind of leaning on the ball and I tried to somewhat gently kick it out of his grasp. He laughed at me and said, ‘You’re going to have to kick it a lot harder than that.’ He was showing me how strong he is, he said.
"Man, he looks good. I really can’t wait to see him out there practicing. I don’t know when it’s going to be. I’ll probably keep him out of these sessions, but he seems like he’s chomping at the bit.”
