Three-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard, who recently agreed to a three-year, $11.25 million contract to remain with the Ravens, says he called head coach John Harbaugh to help push negotiations to the finish line, thanks to the advice of a teammate.
Ricard, who turns 28 in May, has played for the Ravens since signing as an undrafted free agent out of Maine in 2017.
Ricard and his wife, Hayley, were on vacation in Napa Valley with a few other Ravens — Ben Powers, Justin Tucker and Kevin Zeitler — and their wives when free agency opened. Ricard’s agency, Exclusive Sports Group, kept him abreast of the free-agent process, but the fullback knew he wanted to stay in Baltimore. Tucker had an idea for Ricard.
“He told me, ‘Hey, when I was first trying to get my deal done, I ended up calling Harbaugh and I talked to him and stuff. That’s how pretty much we got it done,'” Ricard said on Glenn Clark Radio March 23. “So I was like, ‘Damn, maybe I should do that.’ I ended up doing that and it helped. Sometimes being a free agent, teams don’t really know if you really want to be back. They don’t hear from you. They just hear your agent talking.”
Ricard followed Tucker’s advice. Ricard, Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta “figured out the final contract together, pretty much,” according to the fullback.
“[When] I talked to Harbaugh, the biggest thing he said to me was like, ‘Man, I’m just so happy that you truly want to be back and you really want to be back. It means a lot for us to reinvest in a guy for another three years.’ I think that was the biggest thing he took away from me calling him,” Ricard said.
The Ravens are a perfect fit for Ricard on the field, with the 6-foot-3, 311-pound sledgehammer of a fullback serving as an anchor of the Ravens’ run-first approach with Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Ricard played in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — during his first three years, but played just fullback and special teams the past two.
The work environment in Owings Mills is another reason why Ricard wanted to come back. He said Harbaugh promotes a family atmosphere and is easy to talk to, which was evident when Ricard wanted to get his deal done.
“It’s a fair organization. I feel like when guys come there, they feel welcomed right away,” Ricard said. “They feel like they can be themselves, and you truly can. I’ve heard [from] guys from other teams. For any media stuff, you have to get it cleared by the team first, all that. I had one guy tell me he had his hood on in the building and people that work there were like, ‘Hey, do you not want to be here?'”
Ricard missed four of the Ravens’ final five games in 2021 with a knee injury, but he was a big part of the offense when he was available. He played in 57 percent of the Ravens’ offensive snaps during the 13 games in which he was active. He also found his way into the box score during the Ravens’ 34-31 victory against the Vikings in early November, catching three passes for 35 yards and a touchdown.
The Ravens began the season 8-3, but they lost their final six games amid myriad injury issues to fall out of the playoff picture. The Ravens were blown out by the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals during that six-game losing streak but lost the other five games by a total of eight points.
Ricard is excited to put the 2021 season behind him for good.
“For us, for it to end the way it did, it was just a hard blow. I think we’re starting to rebuild our team. We’re starting to get healthy again. I think we’re almost going to be overlooked now,” Ricard said. “… I think we’re going to be the dark horse, honestly. I don’t think people are looking at the Ravens as like a top-five team in the AFC right now. I don’t really think they are. I’m excited to get back to work.”
For more from Ricard, listen to the full interview here:
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