OWINGS MILLS, MD. — Patrick Ricard ran down through the gauntlet of children and onto the training camp practice fields for the first time this summer on Aug. 7, as the Pro Bowl fullback was cleared from his hip injury and activated from the physically-unable-to-perform list.
But once Ricard took the field, he headed over to where the offensive linemen were working during a special teams period.
When the special teams work ended and the team broke into position groups for individual drills, Ricard stayed with the linemen rather than go to his customary grouping with the tight ends and fellow fullback Ben Mason.
Later, during full-team drills, Ricard worked individually on offensive lineman pass-protection sets on an adjacent field.
There has been a lot of speculation about how Ricard might fit into the Ravens’ revamped offense under new coordinator Todd Monken. Might offensive lineman be one way?
“We’re looking at that,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s just a multitude role kind of thing. Pat’s quite an athlete. He can do a lot of different things, and maybe we expand his role just a little bit for a little of bit of time here and see how he does.”
Ricard thrived in the previous, run-first system of departed coordinator Greg Roman. The 6-foot-3, 305-pounder was a driving force in the Ravens’ record-setting run game of 2019, a battering-ram of a lead blocker who was known to drive defenders clear out of bounds — right off the TV screen for those watching at home.
He has also been an occasional receiver, with 40 career receptions for 241 yards and five touchdowns.
Ricard played 64 percent of the Ravens’ offensive snaps last season, making him the most utilized fullback in the league. At times he lined up in the backfield, at times he lined up as an inline tight end, and occasionally he even lined up in the slot or out wide.
Monken has said his system is all about spreading the field, creating space and then letting the speed go to work. That doesn’t sound like the ideal formula for a 305-pound fullback.
But the Ravens have invested in Ricard, extending him with a three-year, $11.2 million deal in March 2022 that made him one of the highest-paid fullbacks in the league. He has a $4 million cap hit this year that goes up to $5.1 million next year.
The Ravens would clear about $1.7 million in cap space, but eat $2.3 million in dead money, if they moved on from Ricard after this year. They would gain about $4 million in cap space next year.
Ricard came to the Ravens as an undrafted defensive lineman out of Maine, and it was Roman who suggested the move to fullback. For his first three seasons, Ricard made headlines as a rare, old-school, two-way player. In 2019, he played more than 125 snaps on both offense and defense.
Since 2020, though, Ricard has not played at all on defense. He focused exclusively on offense and has earned Pro Bowl honors every year since 2019.
Ricard would add depth to the line, but there isn’t likely to be a starting spot available. The Ravens return four starters, with only the left guard spot up for grabs. Rookie Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu and veteran John Simpson appear to be in a two-man competition for the job, and super-utility lineman Patrick Mekari is always a backup option. Ricard would also go from being a massive presence in the backfield to fairly undersized up front, although the 6-foot-4 Mekari is also listed at 305 pounds. (Aumavae-Laulu is listed at 6-5, 325, and Simpson at 6-4, 330.)
The Ravens do have another fullback on the 90-man roster in Mason, who has taken all fullback reps during spring and summer workouts. It seems unlikely the Ravens will keep both Ricard and Mason on the 53-man roster, and if Monken’s system won’t feature a fullback very often, the Ravens might be looking for ways to keep Ricard’s physicality around.
“We just want to look at it right now and see what it looks like,” Harbaugh said. “If you feel good about it, then keep moving with it. It’s kind of late so he’d have to look really good for us to do that. But with Pat, you never know. I wouldn’t count him out.”