Sometimes the advice you need isn’t always the advice you want to hear.
Such is the case of Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely, who has made a series of critical and embarrassing mistakes the last 2 weeks that have cost his team touchdowns.
Former Ravens tight end and Super Bowl champion Dennis Pitta called Likely on the carpet for his miscues; a fumble while crossing the goal line that cost the Ravens a touchdown in a Week 13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and a dropped pass in the end zone in a Week 14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Ravens have lost 2 consecutive games to drop to 6-7 overall.
“(Against the Bengals) he was nonchalant about the ball as he’s going to score a touchdown, where if he just holds onto the ball his whole body is going to land in the end zone, anyways,” Pitta said on December 10. ” … then (against the Steelers) he reached out, caught it and kept it out, where he could have easily caught it, brought it in and secured the catch instead of doing that.”
Pitta, who played his entire 7-year career with the Ravens, isn’t necessarily wrong.
From BYU to NFL Standout With Ravens
Pitta, 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, was a 3-time All-Mountain West Conference pick at BYU and earned All-American honors in 2009 with 62 receptions for 829 yards and 8 touchdowns. Pitta still holds the BYU career receptions record (221) and was drafted in the fourth round (No. 114 overall) by the Ravens in the 2010 NFL draft.
Pitta had the best season of his career in 2012 with 61 receptions for 669 yards and 7 touchdowns as he helped lead the Ravens to the second Super Bowl win in franchise history and added 14 receptions for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns in 4 postseason games.
He only played 7 games over the next 3 seasons due to injuries but returned in 2016 for one final season with 87 receptions for 729 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Likely Could Be Playing Final Games With Ravens
Long thought to be the heir apparent to veteran tight end Mark Andrews, Likely missed 3 games with a broken foot to start the season and has struggled in his return.
The Ravens signed the 30-year-old Andrews to a 3-year, $39.3 million contract extension on December 3, all but ensuring Likely will become a free agent after this season.
It’s worth pointing out, like Pitt so astutely pointed out, Likely could have easily tucked the ball in like you’re supposed to when you catch a pass — the way football players are taught to catch the ball as small children.
Either way, it’s hard to see both Likely and Andrews playing for the Ravens in 2026.
“Isaiah Likely has to pull the ball close to his body man,” Yves Saint Lourent wrote on X. “Say what you want about the touchdown being overturned but he has got to tuck the ball in.”
“Isaiah Likely is the king of *almost* scoring touchdowns,” PolyMarket’s Dylan Orrell wrote on his official X account.
“Maybe stop targeting Isaiah Likely in the end zone when the game is on the line,” Steelers Blitz wrote on its official X account.
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