Ravens TE Dennis Pitta (hip) 'optimistic' and 'encouraged' by his progress

It’s still too early to know exactly when TE Dennis Pitta will be back on Sundays, but he’s back alongside his teammates at practice and feeling pretty good. Those ruling him out for 2015 should take pause.

Asked point blank whether he’ll play this season, Pitta rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“I’m optimistic,” he said. “I feel good. But obviously it’s a process. I have an idea in mind of where I’d like to be in a couple months, but at the same time you don’t know. I know what it felt like to do this one time. I’ve never known what it felt like to do it twice.”

In terms of the injury being healed, Pitta is 100 percent. In terms of him being back in football shape, he’s not there yet. He can run and cut, he said. He’s running routes and catching passes.

“I’m certainly encouraged by what I’m able to do on the field,” he said. “Being out there, running routes, catching the football, that’s what I love to do. So it’s fun to be able to do that a little bit.”

We're going to wait and see how Pitta's offseason progresses before counting him in for 2015. His potential recovery will have a big impact on Maxx Williams' playing time and upside in Marc Trestman's pass-happy offense.