Patrick Ricard (born May 27, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

fullback and occasional

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Early years

Ricard played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

David Prouty High School David Prouty High School is a public high school located in Spencer, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2015 rankings of '' U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools'', David Prouty High School was left unranked. The school serves grades 9–1 ...

Spencer, Massachusetts Spencer is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,992 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Spencer, please see the article Spencer (CDP), Massach ...

, and was named the Central Massachusetts Division II Defensive MVP twice.

College career

Ricard played for the

Maine Black Bears The Maine Black Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maine. A member of the America East Conference, the University of Maine sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's ice ...

of the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

from 2013 to 2016 as a

. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2012. He played in all 13 games in 2013, recording 19 solo tackles, 40 tackle assists, 1 sack, 2 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble. Ricard was named College Sports Journal FCS Second Team All-Freshman. He played in 10 games, starting 9, in 2014, totaling 19 solo tackles, 27 tackle assists, 4.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups and 1 blocked kick. He played in 10 games, all starts, in 2015, recording 25 solo tackles, 28 tackle assists, 7 sacks, 2 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles. Ricard earned First Team All-

CAA CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright transfer agreement, Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to ...

and ECAC Division I FCS Second Team All-Star honors. He played in 11 games, all starts, in 2016, totaling 25 solo tackles, 25 tackle assists, 5.5 sacks, 1 pass breakup and 1 blocked kick. He garnered First Team All-CAA, ECAC Division I FCS First Team All-Star, STATS FCS Third Team All-American and New England Football Writers Division I All-New England Team recognition. Ricard played in 44 games during his college career, recording 208 total tackles, 18 sacks, 11 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 2 blocked kicks. He majored in economics while at the University of Maine.

Professional career

Ricard was rated the 30th best

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

by NFLDraftScout.com.

Baltimore Ravens

After going undrafted, Ricard signed with the

on May 5, 2017. During the offseason, he spent time practicing on both offense and defense with the Ravens. During the preseason, he played defensive end and fullback. He made the 53-man roster as the only fullback on the team. In Week 8 against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, he recorded a one-yard reception for the first catch of his NFL career. In Week 13 against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, he recorded a three-yard reception for his first professional touchdown. In Week 1 of the 2019 season against the

, Ricard caught a one-yard touchdown pass, his lone touchdown of the season, from

Lamar Jackson Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisville, where he won the Heisman Trophy during his soph ...

in a 59–10 blowout victory. In Week 10 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, Ricard strip sacked Ryan Finley, his first sack and forced fumble of his career, with the ball being picked up by Tyus Bowser and returned 33 yards for a touchdown. The Ravens routed the Bengals 49–13. On December 3, 2019, Ricard signed a two-year contract extension with the Ravens through the 2021 season. Nine days later in Week 15 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, Ricard partially blocked a 49-yard field goal attempt by

Sam Ficken Samuel James Ficken (born December 14, 1992) is an American football placekicker for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonvil ...

in a 42–21 win. On offense, Ricard finished the regular season with eight catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. On defense and special teams, he had nine tackles, one sack and forced fumble, one pass breakup, and the aforementioned blocked field goal. He was selected to his first

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. In 2020, Ricard for the first time in his professional career did not appear in any plays on defense. Ricard was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the Ravens on November 27, 2020, and activated on December 7, 2020. On January 6, 2022, Ricard suffered a knee injury and was placed on

Injured Reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. On March 21, 2022, Ricard signed a three-year contract extension with the Ravens.

References

External links

Baltimore Ravens bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricard, Patrick Living people 1994 births American football defensive linemen American football fullbacks Maine Black Bears football players Baltimore Ravens players Players of American football from Massachusetts People from Spencer, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Worcester County, Massachusetts American Conference Pro Bowl players