The Ravens activated Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard off the physically-unable-to-perform list prior to Monday’s practice after he passed his physical. When he hit the field, however, Ricard returned to work with a different position group than his usual backfield mates.

Ricard, who is making his way back from offseason hip surgery, worked out with the offensive line, signaling a position switch may be in the works for the veteran. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh confirmed after practice that they’re testing the switch out.

“We’re looking at that,” Harbaugh said. “It’s just a multiple role kind of thing. Pat’s quite an athlete, he can do a lot of different things and maybe we expand his role just a little bit for a little bit of time and see how he does, so we’re going to take a look at that.”

At 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, Ricard has the size to make a positional switch in Todd Monken’s new offense as a lineman. He went undrafted as a defensive linemen coming out of Maine before making the switch to fullback in the NFL.

Ben Mason, a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft who has yet to play an NFL game, operated as the main fullback while Ricard was on the PUP list, blocking and catching passes out the backfield. It remains unclear how Monken might use a traditional fullback (or H-Back) in an offense that is expected to be more spread out than in previous years with Greg Roman’s run-focused scheme.

With the position switch, Ricard could serve as a sixth linemen in short-yardage situations for the Ravens.

“I think Patrick’s an established player,” Ravens tight ends coach George Godsey said of Ricard’s skillset Saturday. “He’s able to block people, move people, (and) he’s a good protector. His role is physicality, so with every offense, there has to be that component. He’s demonstrated that for the past few years. I think most of our opponents will say that, too.”

aron.yohannes@thebaltimorebanner.com