Getty Former Ravens TE Ed Dickson officially called it a career with the team that drafted him.
After a 10-year career in which he played with three different teams and appeared in a pair of Super Bowls, veteran tight end Ed Dickson officially announced his retirement from the NFL as a member of the team that drafted him on Thursday, November 17, he called it a career. The Baltimore Ravens originally selected him in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft out of Oregon.
Ed Dickson officially retires as a Raven 💜
Dickson hasn’t been on a team since 2019 and hasn’t played in a game since the 2018 season but he wanted to formally call it a career where it all started because “Baltimore set the standard” for his entire career.
“They helped me come in and create a career, build a career, create a leadership mentality that springboarded my career from that first year to 10-plus,” Dickson said via the Ravens official website. “I’ve always been satisfied with my time I spent in Baltimore. After revisiting it with the family, I wanted to retire a Raven and be a Raven for life.”
The 35-year-old finishes his career with 190 receptions, 2,128 receiving yards, and 15 receiving touchdowns in 134 career games. While he never put up gaudy numbers with the Ravens and was eventually usurped by his fellow 2010 draftmate, Dennis Pitta, as the team’s top tight end, Dickson was a key cog in the team’s Superbowl run in 2012. He caught a pair of passes for 37 yards in the title game and was part of the blocking unit that paved the way for Jacoby Jones’ historic 108-yard kickoff return to open the second half.
“I didn’t have remarkable stats, but I was a part of everything,” Dickson said. “Everything played a crucial piece in winning that Super Bowl. I remember every play like it was yesterday and that was over a decade ago.”
Three years later, he helped the Carolina Panthers reach their second Superbowl in franchise history as well and played behind three-time Pro Bowler Greg Olsen. Dickson was known for his ability as a blocker than a pass catcher for the majority of his career and both embraced and took pride in it.
“I got put in the position where I had to become a better blocker than anything. There was room enough for both of us to shine,” Dickson said. “When Dennis got his opportunity, he took advantage of it. I couldn’t be mad about that. I found an opportunity to get on the field no matter what. That helped me throughout my career.”
Mark Andrews Learning More Patience With Injuries
The Ravens’ current starting tight end is dealing with a knee and shoulder injury that caused him to miss the second half of the Ravens’ Week 8 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the entirety of their Week 9 triumph over the New Orleans Saints. As bad as he wants to be back on the field and making an impact for the offense, he is learning to exercise more patience in the recovery process because he knows his services will be needed the most come playoff time.
“It’s been tough, but being in the league a little while now, you’ve seen the big picture,” Andrews said on November 17. “They’ve got a great staff here, great coaches, great teammates. But I’m feeling good. Just maturity, seeing the bigger picture has been big for me.”
Thankfully, the team has still been winning and producing on offense with him out of the lineup although they haven’t quite been clicking on all cylinders. He doesn’t feel rushed to return because the Ravens aren’t sorely missing their leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns.
“When I’m good to go, I’m good to go,” Andrews said. “It’s awesome that we’re able to win regardless. The main thing is us winning and nothing else matters.
In his absence, rookie Isaiah Likely has stepped up for the Ravens in the passing game with seven receptions, 101 receiving yards, and a pair of touchdowns in their last two games. Andrews has been impressed by what he’s seen for the first-year pro in an expanded role and believes that they’ll make a deadly duo upon his return.
“He’s (Likely) playing really good ball,” Andrews said. “I think it’s been good for him getting even more reps. Him and I on the field at the same time is going to be dangerous.”
Josh Oliver Continues to Earn Snaps
Sticking with the tight ends on the current roster theme, the fourth-year pro was one of the biggest surprise retentions to fans and media members that follow the team when the final round of roster cuts was made.
However, according to offensive coordinator Greg Roman, he made it an easy decision for the coaching staff with the vast improvement he made over the course of training camp and the preseason, and now he has a regular role on offense.
“He won a roster spot in training camp,” he said in a press conference on November 17. “It was definitely not a sure thing, and he just won it. For him to not be on the team for us would have been ridiculous with how he was improving. He just made us put him on the team, and he continues to make us play him.”
Oliver has played at least 30 % of the total offensive snaps in the team’s first nine games and is coming off his heaviest workload of the season thus far in Week 9 when he played 65% of the total offensive snaps against the Saints. He has recorded six catches including some after making impressive adjustments for 52 receiving yards and scored his first career touchdown.
Josh Oliver extends for the one-handed grab!
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Similarly to Dickson during his stint in Baltimore, Oliver is making his most impact on the Ravens’ offense as a blocker. He has far out-snapped and essentially replaced veteran Nick Boyle as both the third tight end on the depth chart and blocking specialist at the position.
Even though Boyle has been active for every game since Week 3, he hasn’t played more than 24% or 16 total snaps on offense during that span, both of which came in Week 9. In the eyes of his coaches’, blocking has been the area where he has made the most improvement.
Another week, another big run block from TE Josh Oliver. Washes the Browns DE down the line. Browns S John Johnson III wanted no piece of Gus on this 7-yard TD run.
“As far as his blocking, it is so much improved from a year ago, probably as much as any player I’ve ever worked with over one year’s time,” Roman said. “It’s a credit to him.”