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ESPN Staff Writer- Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Doctors have advised Baltimore Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta that it is not safe for him to resume his NFL career after two major hip operations, league sources told ESPN.
Pitta still has the ability to override the doctors' recommendations, according to sources, and continue his push to return to the Ravens, who must decide by 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday whether they will activate him from the physically unable to perform list or end his season.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh has left the decision to Pitta, trusting he will make the prudent choice, sources told ESPN. If Pitta opts to play, Harbaugh is prepared to place him on the roster and use him, according to sources.
Doctors met with Pitta on Tuesday to see how his surgically repaired hip responded to the practices. Pitta, who has fractured his right hip in both of the past two seasons, has practiced with the Ravens for the past three weeks and has impressed team officials.
The Ravens signed Pitta to a five-year, $32 million deal that included $16 million guaranteed during the 2013 offseason. Since that contract, Pitta has played in seven games, catching 36 passes and scoring one touchdown. Pitta is guaranteed $4 million this season, whether he plays or not.
"If it's safe and he feels like he can get out there and the hip is responding well, he's going to play," Harbaugh said Monday. "If it's not safe, he's not going to play. It's not a black and white decision, but it's a decision that he has to make with the doctors."
The Ravens' passing game is without leading receiver Steve Smith Sr. and first-round draft pick Breshad Perriman, whose knee injury has kept him off the field all season.