Todd Heap

Former Ravens tight end Todd Heap, who will be back in town on Sunday as a member of the Arizona Cardinals, took out a half-page ad in the sports section of Friday's Baltimore Sun to thank Ravens fans for the memories. "Although it was not my decision to leave Baltimore, I accept that change is sometimes necessary," wrote Heap, a first-round draft pick in 2001 who played 10 seasons for the Ravens, in the letter's final paragraph. "Certain that I have a few good years of football left in me, I'm excited about my future with the Arizona Cardinals.

Try to imagine the Ravens defense next season without Ray Lewis. Now try to imagine it without Ed Reed, too. No, I can't do it, either. One thing's for sure: the Ravens are at a delicate point in their long relationship with the moody free safety with NFL free agency starting Tuesday. The man is bound for the Hall of Fame and he's been the ultimate team player and community do-gooder for the Ravens. So they don't want to tick him off with a ridiculously low offer. But with his age (34)

As a response to the article, "Heap devoted to family, faith and football" (Jan. 9), the professional football player Todd Heap is just the role model kids need these days. Most stereotypical football players that young viewers are watching during football games are glamorized and made famous by illegal or immoral actions. Kids should not be looking up to players such as Michael Vick or Ben Roethlisberger who commit illegal acts, but players such as Todd Heap who do good for the community.

The general rule of thumb in the NFL is that it takes about three years for a wide receiver to develop into an everyday contributor. The same could apply to Dennis Pitta. The Ravens' fourth-round selection in the 2010 NFL draft, Pitta has begun to assert himself as the franchise's tight end of the future. He is tied with wide receiver Torrey Smith for the team lead in touchdown receptions (seven), ranks second in catches (57), and is third in receiving yards (613). With two more regular-season contests remaining, Pitta needs just one more score to break a tie with Todd Heap for the most touchdown catches by a tight end in a single season.

We have countless awesome sports photos in the archives here at The Baltimore Sun , and I have decided to share one with you each week in a regular feature called "Throwback Thursday. " The Ravens announced Tuesday that they were releasing four prominent veteran players. They were tough moves for Ravens fans to swallow, especially the ones who now have to go shopping for a new jersey. Gone are wide receiver Derrick Mason, defensive tackle Kelly Gregg, running back Willis McGahee and tight end Todd Heap.

Suiting up for the first time at this year's training camp, Todd Heap had a busy and impressive day. The longtime starting tight end passed his conditioning test 20 minutes before Sunday's morning practice at McDaniel College in Westminster and then caught two touchdown passes in a red-zone drill. Heap was on the team's nonfootball illness list for the first two days of camp because of swollen tonsils. "I'm still fighting through it," he said. "I felt good enough where I could go for it this morning."

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Tight end Todd Heap spent his first 10 NFL seasons with the Ravens, so he has looked forward to returning to Baltimore this weekend since signing with the Cardinals last summer. The trip would be even better if Heap can play, something he hasn't done since suffering a hamstring injury three weeks ago. “I'm taking it day to day right now,” he said. “I'm hoping I'll be ready.” Heap was surprised when the Ravens released him in July. The Ravens needed the cap space ($4.6.million)

Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.   Running it back: The celebration of the NFL's four-month lockout ending turned into disbelief Monday when the Ravens cut four players , including their top two receivers of all time. Veterans Derrick Mason, Todd Heap, Willis McGahee and Kelly Gregg were informed by the Ravens that they will be released from their contracts . ... The Ravens players who survived the roster cuts are ready to get back on the field Wednesday.

Todd Heap's past two seasons will be remembered for the tight end taking hard hits over the middle, getting back to his feet and playing through the pain. In many ways, his toughness has overshadowed his touchdowns. Heap has quietly become the Ravens' red-zone monster, emerging as Joe Flacco's favorite target inside the 20-yard line. Over the past dozen games, Heap has scored six touchdowns in the red zone, the most by any Raven during that stretch. Only running back Willis McGahee has produced more than three red-zone touchdowns in that time, but most of his five touchdowns have been scored by running the ball.

— Todd Heap is too modest to single out an opponent after an impressive performance. But after a 10-catch, 108-yard showing that aided the Ravens' 30-7 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC wild-card round Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, the tight end conceded that he felt confident when he was lined up against rookie strong safety Eric Berry . "Obviously, I think it's a good matchup anytime I can go up against a safety, but...

Each Wednesday, blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Ravens. 133 -- the number of Peyton Manning's 204 passing yards on Sunday that came after play-action fakes. For the first three quarters of Sunday's 34-17 loss, the Denver Broncos showed the Ravens what a balanced offense should look like. Knowshon Moreno was effective running the ball, opening up the play-action pass for Manning, who picked apart a Ravens defense that had two new starters at inside linebacker and a fill-in at safety.

Every morning, Monday through Friday, blogger Matt Vensel will hook you up with reading material -- mostly on the Ravens but with some other Baltimore sports stuff, too -- to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday. That way he'll have an excuse to do the same to start his workday, too. RUNNING IT BACK As the Ravens enter a tough four-game stretch to end the season, they could get linebacker Ray Lewis back soon but might have to move forward without Terrell Suggs.

For the first time since the beginning of last season, tight ends Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson finished a game with a combined zero catches in last Thursday's 23-16 win against the Cleveland Browns. Chances are that scenario won't play out again Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, who have surrendered a touchdown to tight ends in three of four games this season. Tony Gonzalez caught five passes for 53 yards and one score in the Atlanta Falcons' 40-24 rout, Scott Chandler grabbed two balls for 53 yards and a touchdown in the Buffalo Bills' 35-17 demolition, and Jimmy Graham finished with four receptions for 16 yards and a score in the New Orleans Saints' 27-24 overtime loss.

Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta could miss the rest of training camp and is now a question mark for the Sept. 10 season opener after he suffered what appears to be a broken hand in Monday's practice. Pitta walked off the field with a trainer less than an hour into Monday's session, the latest -- and easily the most significant -- injury that has marred the first four days of training camp. The 27-year-old tight end, who became one of quarterback Joe Flacco's favorite targets in his second season, is scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging test Tuesday, but it's believed that he'll soon undergo surgery to repair the damage.

Derrick Mason announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday, and he went out as a member of the Ravens. General manager Ozzie Newsome and coach John Harbaugh joined Mason in the auditorium at the Under Armour Performance Center as he said goodbye. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, wide receivers coach Jim Hostler, quarterback Joe Flacco and wide receiver Torrey Smith were among those in attendance. Mason spent most of the 30-minute news conference reminiscing about his time with the team and speaking about his decision to retire . But he also talked about the current state of the Ravens, specifically their offense.

For six seasons, Derrick Mason left cornerbacks slipping on the turf with his signature comeback routes - cuts that were sharp, surgical, and effective. Now, as he sprints into life after football, Mason may soon swerve back to Baltimore to retire as a member of the Ravens. Mason, the franchise's all-time leader in career receptions and receiving yards, told The Baltimore Sun on Friday he hopes to retire as a Raven. The 38-year-old has spoken with team officials about his desire, and it will likely happen once he officially retires.

Since the Ravens moved to Baltimore for the 1996 season, only running back Jamal Lewis and quarterback Kyle Boller have taken more vicious hits than tight end Todd Heap. So last week when some teammates were vacationing, Heap was seeing a chiropractor about neck and shoulder injuries. He also got acupuncture, muscle stimulus and ultrasound treatments. When the Ravens returned to work Monday, Heap was back on the field and as good as new. Well, almost. "I got a little rest, a little treatment and I feel good," said Heap, declaring himself fit for Sunday's game against Miami.

Tight end Todd Heap is entering his sixth season with the Ravens. The Arizona native and former first-round draft pick started all 16 games in 2005, finishing with 75 receptions and 855 yards. If you could do anything in the world when you aren't playing football what would you do? "My favorite thing is just playing with my kids and taking my family on vacation." Where's your favorite place to go on vacation? "I just love the beach in California. That's my favorite thing. It's relaxing.

Will Ravens training camp -- and the Harbaugh brothers storyline -- be under HBO's spotlights this summer? FOXSports.com reported that HBO is interested in the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers for this year's season of “Hard Knocks,” its documentary-style training camp series. John coaches the Ravens and younger brother Jim coaches the 49ers -- a dynamic that would surely draw in viewers. But would the interest be mutual? “I am not aware of any request in regards to 'Hard Knocks,'” Ravens director of media relations Chad Steele told The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday afternoon.

Maybe it's because I was a star mathlete in high school, but I love numbers. And we've spent plenty of time crunching them these past 10 days while waiting for the Ravens to make moves -- or purposefully not make moves -- in the new league year. Here is a handful of relevant numbers from this quiet free-agency period: $120.6 million: The salary cap ceiling for teams (excluding the Cowboys and Redskins), slightly up from 2011. $4.7 million: The amount of cap room the Ravens had available for purchases as of Wednesday morning.