Early years

Pitta was born in Fresno, California to parents Dennis and Linda Pitta. His father played college football as a middle linebacker for California from 1968 to 1969. Pitta attended Moorpark High School in Moorpark, California, where he earned letters in football, basketball, and track. He is an Eagle Scout. He played football as a wide receiver and cornerback, and his large size made him difficult to cover. As a senior in 2002, Pitta recorded 64 receptions for 1,150 yards and 13 touchdowns. That season, he was named a first-team all-county, all-league, and all-area player. He was a scholar-athlete all four years in high school and was also named a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete. Pitta was shown interest by Dartmouth, Navy, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Utah, and Yale, but no Division I school offered him a scholarship.

College career

Pitta chose to attend Brigham Young University, where he walked onto the BYU Cougars football team as a wide receiver. Pitta was moved to tight end by head coach Gary Crowton, where he soon earned a scholarship. He sat out the 2003 season on "grayshirt" status. In 2004, he saw significant playing time as a result of an injury to starter Daniel Coats. Pitta recorded 17 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns, and actually finished the season with more receptions than Coats. Both of his scores came in the game against Air Force, where he also blocked a punt upon which BYU capitalized for a score.

Pitta is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Pitta participated in a Mormon mission in the Dominican Republic, which caused a two-year hiatus in his college football career. He returned to BYU for the 2007 season, and recorded 59 receptions for 813 yards and five touchdowns. He finished the season as the nation's fifth-leading tight end in yards per game at 63. Pitta was named to the All-Mountain West Conference (MWC) first team, and he also received Academic All-MWC honors.

In 2008, he recorded 83 receptions for 1,083 yards and six touchdowns. Against Northern Iowa, he compiled 213 yards, which broke the conference receiving yards record for a tight end and earned him the John Mackey Tight End of the Week honors. Against Colorado State, he caught the game-winning 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Max Hall, and was named the John Mackey Tight End of the Week and a MWC Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Pitta finished the season as the team's second-leading receiver. He was a Lombardi Award and Biletnikoff Award candidate, and a Mackey Award semifinalist. Pitta was named to the All-MWC first team, and again received Academic All-MWC honors. College Football News and Sports Illustrated named him an honorable mention All-American, and Rivals.com named him to its All-America third team.

Prior to the 2009 season, The NFL Draft Scout, a CBS Sports affiliate, rated Pitta as the sixth-ranked out of 92 tight ends available for the 2010 NFL Draft. They project him as being selected in the third or fourth round. Phil Steele's assessed him as the fourth-ranked draft-eligible tight end and placed him on its preseason All-America fourth team.

He was one of three finalists for the Mackey Award. He was named to the 2009 All-MWC first team and the 2009 AFCA Coaches' All-America team.

Dennis Pitta, Reception Records in BYU Cougars football History

Category	Number	BYU Rank, All Time	Notes
Career receptions	221	1st	Passed Austin Collie (215) in 2009
Career receiving yards	2,883	3rd	1st for TEs
Season receiving yards	1,083	8th	1st for TEs
Career receiving touchdowns	21	6th (tied with Mike Chronister)	2nd for TEs behind Gordon Hudson (22)

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 4½ in	245 lb	32¼ in	10 in	4.63 s					34 in	9 ft 5 in	27 reps

Baltimore Ravens (2010-present)

Pitta was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. The pick was one of three that the Ravens acquired in a trade with the Denver Broncos on the first night of the draft on April 22. The Broncos received a first-round pick which was used to select Tim Tebow. Pitta was signed to a three-year contract on June 21, 2010. In his rookie year, Pitta had only one catch for a single yard while playing behind Todd Heap and fellow-rookie Ed Dickson. In 2011 however, quarterback Joe Flacco looked for Pitta often, and Pitta stepped into a more valuable role, with 40 catches for 405 yards and three touchdowns. By then, Terrell Suggs nicknamed him "American Express".

In the Ravens' 2012 season opener in Cincinnati, Pitta caught 5 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown, with quarterback Joe Flacco targeting him 10 times. By October, he was the starting TE in front of Ed Dickson. However, Dickson was listed ahead of Pitta in Super Bowl XLVII.

During Week 15, in a game versus the AFC leading Denver Broncos, Pitta had what was arguably the defining moment of his career. Towards the end of the game, he caught a short pass from Flacco and broke three tackles to complete a 61-yard highlight-reel touchdown. Pitta finished the game with 7 catches for 125 yards and two scores, but the Ravens were defeated by a huge deficit of 34-17.

In Super Bowl XLVII, Pitta caught four balls for 26 yards and a touchdown to help lead the Ravens to a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. In the entire playoffs, he caught touchdowns in 3 of the 4 games.

On May 13, 2013, the Baltimore Ravens announced that Pitta signed his second round restricted free agent tender worth $2.023 million.

On July 27, 2013, Pitta suffered a dislocated and fractured hip during training camp and underwent surgery the same night. Pitta was not immediately placed on injured reserve and examinations of the hip revealed no ligament or cartilage damage.

In Week 14 of the 2013 season, Pitta returned to on field action for first time since Super Bowl XLVII. He caught 6 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown in a 29-26 win against the Minnesota Vikings.

On February 28, 2014, the Baltimore Ravens and Pitta agreed to a 5 year $32 million contract. During a game against the Cleveland Browns on September 21, 2014, Pitta left the game with a hip injury. It was revealed that his right hip was dislocated again. He underwent surgery on the same hip the next day and it prematurely ended his 2014 season. On September 1, 2015 Pittta was placed on the PUP list.

On November 11, 2015 The Ravens reported that doctors informed Pitta that it was not safe for him to continue his career. Pitta was placed on season ending injured reserve later that day, however Pitta stated that he had not yet elected to retire from the NFL.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]