After tying the knot, Ravens tight end hopes for a strong season
Daniel Wilcox’s fondest memory at M&T Bank Stadium last season didn’t involve the tight end making a fantastic catch or the leading the Ravens to a big win.
In fact, he wasn’t even wearing his uniform for one of the biggest plays of his life.
He wore a tuxedo.
On June 28, the 6-foot-1, 250-pounder became the first player to get married on the Ravens’ home field when he tied the knot with his wife, Shauna Belize, after she arrived on a horse-drawn Cinderella carriage.
Now, Wilcox is hoping his fairytale marriage has him living happily ever after and the clock doesn’t strike midnight on his playing career in Baltimore. The 31-year-old expects to enter the season at full strength after missing all of training camp recovering from surgery in January to repair his sprained left big toe.
“I just want to make sure I’m ready mentally and physically,” Wilcox said. “I don’t want to rush into anything and make the injury worse. I just have to be smart right now get as many reps as I can and do what I can to learn this offense. It’s been very, very frustrating. You think something so small wouldn’t hold you out as long as I’ve been out. It’s been a rough journey.”
Wilcox understands this is a defining season after playing in just five games last fall, as he was hampered by foot, ankle and thigh injuries. He also knows starting tight end Todd Heap has been slowed by a right calf injury throughout the preseason and reserve Quinn Sypniewski is out for the year with a knee injury.
The Ravens have been forced to turn to journeymen Aaron Walker and Adam Bergen.
“Dan could be our second tight end, which is an important spot right now,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s pushing it really hard in practice. It’s a pain issue and a structure issue, just to see if [the toe] will hold up.”
But for Wilcox, who was undrafted out of Appalachian State in 2001 and had brief stints with the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before joining the Ravens in 2004, overcoming adversity is nothing new.
“I’ve never had job security,” he said. “I’ve been a free agent from Day One. Even when I signed my contract [in 2006] I had the mindset that I could be gone any day. I never relaxed.”
Heap can relate to Wilcox’s frustration. Heap, a Pro Bowler, missed 10 games with a hamstring injury last year and 10 games in 2004 with an injured ankle. Heap said the play of Wilcox, who has 71 catches for 557 yards and six touchdowns in four seasons, is integral to the Ravens improving an offense that struggled mightily last season.
“Dan is huge and can have a huge impact on the success of our offense,” Heap said. “He brings a lot to the table with his blocking skills and his receiving skills. I feel for what he’s going through and hopefully he’ll be ready.”
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