Joe Flacco has said that the Baltimore Ravens have a strong enough roster to handle the loss of Dennis Pitta.
The tight end will miss the 2013 NFL season after sustaining a fractured and dislocated hip during practice last weekend.
The quarterback told the Ravens' official website: "My first reaction was probably a little selfish. It was like, 'Man, that's going to hurt us a little bit'. Then you think about him and his family. It's just crazy, it's a freak injury. You feel bad for him.
"I can't imagine laying in the bed and saying, 'Man, I can't play this year.' You could get pretty down and depressed. You never know. It was good to talk to him on the phone and see that his spirits were good and that he sounded good. He sounded like himself. Once I talked to him a little bit and sensed that he was feeling pretty good, I felt a little bit better.
"Any time you lose a great player like that, it's a loss. We maybe won't run as much diesel two tight end formations. But I'm confident in the guys we have. We'll be fine. I'm confident in who we have and I'm confident in myself that we can make up for it."
Pitta recorded 669 receiving yards and scored seven touchdowns for the Super Bowl champions in 2012.
Sian Cowper
