The Ravens have not declared a tight end state of emergency yet, but they are keeping a cautious eye on the position.
Who is the Ravens' starting tight end?
Is it Todd Heap or L.J. Smith? Maybe it's Edgar Jones. No one knows for sure, and the answer might not come until after training camp when coach John Harbaugh takes a body count at the position.
As of right now, Heap appears to be No. 1, followed by Smith. But if the Ravens had a game today, those two probably couldn't play because of injuries, and neither could blocking tight end Quinn Sypniewski, who had surgery last week to repair an aggravated knee injury.
That leaves the Ravens with Jones, who converted from outside linebacker last season, and rookie Davon Drew, the team's fifth-round pick out of East Carolina.
Oh, my.
"Quinn had to go back in there and reattach a piece of bone, I guess, that never did reattach," Harbaugh said. "So his outlook, I'd say, is questionable for the start of training camp. We'll have to see what [team trainer] Bill Tessendorf and the doctors say. Todd seems to be getting better. He tells me that he's really improving quickly right now."
The Ravens wanted to remove any questions about the position during the draft in April but lost out on the opportunity when the Detroit Lions selected Oklahoma tight end Brandon Pettigrew with the No. 20 pick in the first round, three slots ahead of the Ravens, who traded up to draft Mississippi offensive tackle Michael Oher.
The Ravens are extremely happy with Oher, but tight end is still a problem. Before the season starts, the Ravens might have Heap and Smith, their two top candidates, vying for playing time. Or they might have to scramble and hit the waiver wire for possible replacements.
It's a shaky situation at best.
Heap hasn't fully participated in offseason minicamps because of a recurring back injury. Even if he fully recovers for training camp, there are still questions about his durability and whether he has lost a step and some explosiveness the past two seasons. The same questions are being asked about Smith, who was signed to a one year, $1.5 million contract during the offseason.
Smith hadn't been completely healthy for the past two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and is on the sideline with a groin injury. Even if he and Heap can play, the Ravens still don't have that power blocker at the position like Sypniewski, who first injured his knee in an offseason workout nearly a year ago.
