Ed Dickson was used to being stuck behind a high-profile, highly productive tight end.
The difference between now and his days with the Ravens is that he feels appreciated. The Panthers are going to be counting on him more heavily after Pro Bowler Greg Olsen broke his foot, but Dickson felt valued even before then.
“That’s why I love it here,” Dickson said, via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer. “Even though I don’t get a chance to catch 60 passes, they appreciate what I do here.”
Dickson caught a career-high 54 passes for the Ravens in 2011, but then saw friend and tight end Dennis Pitta become quarterback Joe Flacco’s favorite target. Then when the Ravens extended the oft-injured Pitta’s deal in 2014, Dickson was insulted by what he thought was a lowball offer, and signed with the Panthers for the league minimum to back up Olsen.
“I blame it on the coordinator and the head coach and everybody that didn’t see what they had,” Dickson said. “They could have at least had two great tight ends there for years to come.
“They could’ve split it down the middle and said, you know what, we can have two good guys. When they paid Dennis that money, we basically had identical stats.”
The Panthers were happy for the insult, especially now that Olsen’s out for the next eight weeks. They liked Dickson before because he was willing to play a lot of roles gladly.
“Let’s face it, this is an ego-driven league. You don’t see guys like Ed Dickson no more, where he understands his role,” Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said. “He’s capable of being more on another team, but he just accepts it and he’s appreciated here.”
And now he has a chance to put up bigger numbers, since Olsen was Newton’s security blanket target, and someone has to fill that role.
