Oct 6, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels (81) runs with the ball after making a catch against the San Francisco 49ers in the third quarter at Candlestick Park. The 49ers defeated the Texans 34-3. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Ravens have signed former Texans tight end Owen Daniels, reports NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala. Daniels in Baltimore is an immediate reunion for he and his former coach Gary Kubiak, who is the Ravens offensive coordinator after being fired by the Texans last season.
The Ravens wanted to pair a second weapon at tight end with Dennis Pitta, and in Daniels, they have their man. Ed Dickson is a solid backup TE in the NFL, but he could never really be the pass-catching weapon that the team wanted opposite Pitta. One reason Joe Flacco struggled last year was because he lacked that security blanket tight end with Pitta hurt. Now, entering 2014 with Daniels in place and Pitta healthy, Flacco will have two good tight ends in the middle of the field, which is usually wide open for a Ravens team that possesses a great deep threat and field-stretcher in Torrey Smith.
Daniels is a two-time Pro Bowler who was released by Houston on the first day of free agency. With the Texans, he was Matt Schaub’s second favorite target behind Andre Johnson. In Baltimore, he’ll be surrounded by more talent, and might do more blocking than he did in Houston. Even though the addition of Pitta helps Baltimore’s offense, don’t expect them to stop improving from here. They could look at a wideout with their first pick in the draft.