Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard has agreed to terms on a new contract with the Ravens, as the team retains one of the most accomplished undrafted players in franchise history.
The team has not announced terms of the signing, but according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Ricard’s new deal will be for one year, fully guaranteed.
Ricard, who turns 31 in May, was set to hit free agency this week, but his return was always viewed as likely. Few teams operate as fullback-friendly an offense as the Ravens do, and Ricard declared at the end of this past season that he wanted to end his career as a Raven. Plus, general manager Eric DeCosta expressed a strong desire to re-sign Ricard.
“I think Pat knows how we feel about him,” DeCosta said at the team’s season-ending news conference, “and I would love for him to retire as a Raven, too. He epitomizes everything that we’re about.”
Ricard joined the Ravens as an undrafted rookie defensive lineman out of Maine in 2017, and no one at that time could have predicted that he would transform into a five-time Pro Bowl fullback. This past year, Ricard not only earned his fifth Pro Bowl nod, but he was named a First-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career.
Ricard is just the eighth player in franchise history to be named to the Pro Bowl at least five times.
Ricard made headlines early in his career as an old-school, two-way player, alternating between defensive line and fullback after former assistant coach Greg Roman first suggested the move to offense. At times in training camp, Ricard would quickly whip off a mesh pinny to switch from offense to defense or vice versa.
Ricard hasn’t played on defense since 2019, though, focusing instead on becoming a 6-foot-3, 300-pound battering ram lead blocker for a Ravens rushing attack that has been historically strong during his career.
In 2019, the Ravens set the NFL single-season record with 3,296 rushing yards, and this past season, they finished No. 2 all-time with 3,189 yards. Also this past year, the Ravens became the first team in NFL history to top 3,000 rushing yards and 4,000 passing yards in the same season.
The Ravens finished 12-5 and won the AFC North title for the second straight season but lost to the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Ricard has just 10 carries for 19 yards in his career, but he has 48 catches for 315 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2024, Ricard had three receptions for 22 yards and a score.
Todd Monken’s arrival as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator in 2023 was expected to usher in a more wide-open passing attack, and Ricard’s role in it was very much in question. Although Ricard’s usage dropped from a career-high 64 percent of the offensive snaps in 2022 to 39 percent in 2023, it quickly became clear that he would remain a key component of the Ravens attack led by MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and, in 2024, Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry.
After initially making the team as an undrafted rookie in 2017, Ricard signed a contract extension in 2019 and then signed another three-year deal with the team in 2022.
As he cleaned out his locker after the Ravens’ season-ending loss to the Bills, Ricard said that the 2024 season had been “one of the most fun (years) I’ve had playing football.”
“It’s the best offense I’ve ever been a part of,” he added. “I got to play with the best running back in football (and) the best quarterback in football, so there’s a lot to hang my hat on.”
Asked about his future with free agency looming, Ricard had said, “I want to stay here. I want to be here. I want to retire here.”
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