As he watched casually from the outside, Patrick Ricard saw Cam Skattebo doing his thing for the Giants and thought to himself, “Man, that guy has a lot of fun.”
Fast-forward to the opening of NFL free agency. Skattebo reached out to Ricard and, in full recruitment mode, tried to persuade the 300-pound fullback to come to the Giants and open holes for him.
It happened. Ricard, after nine years playing for John Harbaugh with the Ravens, followed his head coach to the Giants. That means before long, someone who gets paid to pave the way will do just that for Skattebo, a 220-pounder who attracts and relishes contact like a moth to a flame.
Just imagine what that will look like.
“It’s gonna look like a lot of yards and a lot of touchdowns,” Ricard said Thursday. “It’s gonna be physicality all over the place. It’s gonna just be exactly what the people want to see.”
If it is, consider this an inspired signing by the Giants, who made Ricard the highest-paid fullback in the league with a two-year, $7.63 million contract.
There are not many unique players in the league; Ricard is one of them. He plays a position many offenses simply do not utilize. He does not fit a mold.
It should come as no surprise that at 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds, he was a defensive lineman in college for the Maine Black Bears. It should come as little surprise that he was not selected in the 2017 draft. He signed with the Ravens and replaced valued fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who moved on to the 49ers. For three seasons, Ricard played some offense, defense and special teams.
In 2020, he evolved into a full-time fullback. When he takes the field, there is an actual football out there with him. But he rarely gets to touch it.
In nine seasons and 132 games for the Ravens, Ricard had 11 rushing attempts for 22 yards. He did not score a rushing touchdown. Not one. He is the opposite of a fantasy football keeper — unless there is a league out there that awards points to those who clear the way for others to plow into the end zone.
“It does not bother me if I do not get the ball at all,” Richard said. “Sometimes I’d rather have these other guys get the ball because they’re, just to be honest, they’re better, they’re more explosive, they can run a lot faster than me.”
That is how someone gets the nickname “Pancake Pat.” He flattens defenders.
Richard does have 49 career receptions for 323 yards and seven touchdowns. His longest catch and run is 28 yards, and that was the source of some good-natured ribbing.
“The one thing that really stuck with me with Pat is when he was kind of bickering with me in 2023, because he had the longest reception in the room for about two weeks until I jumped him,” said tight end Isaiah Likely — who, like Ricard, went from the Ravens to the Giants this past week.
Ricard, 31, did not miss a game for three consecutive seasons before sitting out the first six games in 2025 with a calf strain. The Ravens averaged 126.2 rushing yards in the games missed by Richard. In the 11 games with him, they averaged an NFL-high 173.2 yards.
After the season, Ricard was selected for his sixth Pro Bowl. He has been a first or second-team All Pro in each of the past three seasons. His blocking enhanced the stats for Derrick Henry, Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins. Coming soon: Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and any other running back the Giants add to the mix.
Richard leads the way on the ground, but he is a follower when it comes to Harbaugh.
“Very grateful for Coach Harbaugh,” Ricard said. “He’s been in my corner my whole career, he’s believed in me. And as soon as I saw he got the job here, I was definitely interested. I even told him, ‘Look, if you were coaching a Pop Warner football team, I’m interested.’ I’m there doing something, I don’t even know if I’m the water boy.”
The Browns, with former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, also wanted Ricard. That was tempting.
“I’m excited for the Browns,” Ricard said, “but I’m more excited for the Giants.”