Marshal Yanda - Pro Football Rumors

Ravens Lose Marshal Yanda For Season

September 17th, 2017 at 4:12pm CST by Zachary Links

Marshal Yanda‘s season is over. The guard fractured his leg in Sunday’s win over the Browns, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. He’ll be placed on IR with no hope of returning in 2017.

The Ravens have been plagued by injuries for months, particularly on the offensive line. Tony Bergstrom was plugged in at the right guard spot after Yanda exited and that’s where he could remain for the rest of the season, unless the Ravens add a better interior lineman to the mix.

Yanda missed three games in 2016 due to a nagging shoulder injury. Despite the ailment, the 33-year-old graded out as the NFL’s best guard.

“There’s not a word in English dictionary to describe what Yanda is to us,” one player said to Zrebiec (Twitter link).

The Ravens have also lost linebacker Bam Bradley for the season thanks to a torn ACL.

Ravens Notes: Boldin, Mosley, Jernigan

March 28th, 2017 at 11:25am CST by Dallas Robinson

Although Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he’d “obviously” be open to signing veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin, he admitted he’ll leave the club’s personnel decisions to general manager Ozzie Newsome, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Boldin, 36, has already indicated he’ll return for a 15th NFL season, but he may not sign with a club until later this summer. Baltimore may also look to find a receiver via trade, or perhaps pick up a veteran wideout that has recently been cut by another club, says Harbaugh.

Here’s more on the Ravens:

Linebacker C.J. Mosley‘s fifth-year option is a mere “formality,” per Harbaugh, as Baltimore wants the former first-round pick “to be a Ravens for many years” (Twitter link via Zrebiec). The non-top-10 pick fifth-year option salary for linebackers in 2017 will be $8.369MM, so the figure could tick towards $9MM in 2019. Mosley, 24, missed two games last year but still racked up 92 tackles and four interceptions, grading as the league’s No. 7 linebacker, per Pro Football Focus.
Harbaugh didn’t deny rumors that defensive lineman Timmy Jernigan could be traded, reports Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. “Everybody is up for trade,” Harbaugh said. “It’s part of the conversation in the NFL.” Mike Lombardi of The Ringer recently indicated he’s heard Jernigan’s name pop up in trade discussions. Jernigan, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal, played in all 16 games last season and managed five sacks.
While veteran tight end Ben Watson hasn’t yet been cleared to practice, he is ahead of schedule as he recovers from a torn Achilles, per Hensley. Watson, 36, signed a two-year, $7MM contract with Baltimore last spring, but never made it on the field after going down in August. There’s no guarantee Watson makes the Ravens’ final roster, as the club also boasts Dennis Pitta (who recently accepted a paycut), Maxx Williams, Crockett Gillmore, Nick Boyle, and Darren Waller at tight end.
Right guard Marshal Yanda underwent offseason shoulder surgery to repair a nagging injury that caused him to miss three games in 2016, according to Hensley. Despite his health issues, the 32-year-old Yanda was spectacular once again last season, as PFF graded him as the NFL’s best guard. He’s signed through the 2019 campaign.

Ravens’ Marshal Yanda Restructures Contract

March 9th, 2016 at 7:58am CST by Luke Adams

While one veteran Ravens guard – Kelechi Osemele – is set to officially leave the team to sign with the Raiders later today, the team’s other starting guard has reworked his contract to create extra cap room. According to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Marshal Yanda has restructured his deal, opening up nearly $4MM in cap space.

Yanda’s contract, which he signed in October, was an ideal candidate for restructuring, since his 2016 salary was already fully guaranteed — converting a chunk of it to a signing bonus allows the veteran guard to get that money up front, and spreads it over the next four years for cap purposes, without adding any additional guaranteed money to the Ravens’ tab.

According to Yates, Yanda converted about $5.3MM of his $6.186MM base salary into a signing bonus, which should reduce his cap hit to just above $4MM for 2016. He had originally been on track to have a cap number of nearly $8MM. The move will also increase his cap hits in future seasons by about $1.325MM.

The extra cap flexibility should help the Ravens conduct their offseason business — it could be put toward signing tight end Ben Watson, who reportedly reached a contract agreement with Baltimore on Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC Notes: Broncos, Mariota, Yanda

October 20th, 2015 at 10:00pm CST by Zachary Links

In case you were too busy watching playoff baseball, here are a few AFC stories you might have missed this Tuesday:

The Broncos are being held back by more than quarterback Peyton Manning, and people around the league tell Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) that they believe Denver should trade for a tight end. Cole has heard the name of Rams tight end Jared Cook mentioned as someone who would be a good fit, but it’s unknown whether St. Louis would entertain trade offers. 49ers tight end Vernon Davis could be another player that would make sense for Denver.
The Titans are willing to give quarterback Marcus Mariota extra time to heal up, since they feel comfortable with using Zach Mettenberger as a fill-in, according to Cole (video link). Not only do the Titans feel that Mettenberger can be a capable quarterback in the short-term, but they are also eager to get him out there so that he can show his stuff to other teams in need of a quarterback. If Mettenberger looks good under center, he’ll increase his trade value and Tennessee could get something of worth in return for him.
Marshal Yanda‘s contract extension is a win-win for the Ravens and the Pro Bowl guard, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun writes. Yanda inked a four-year, $37.4MM extension late last week, giving him $17.8MM in guaranteed cash. The deal doesn’t make him the highest-paid guard in the league, but it did give him additional financial security. As for the Ravens, they were able to lock up a four-time Pro Bowl selection and prevent him from hitting the open market. Yanda was due to become a free agent following the season.

AFC Notes: Chiefs, Ridley, Ravens, Yanda

October 20th, 2015 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

In spite of the Chiefs‘ slow start to the 2015 season, which has included some offensive struggles, head coach Andy Reid isn’t considering giving up play-calling duties on offense, writes Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. As Paylor observes, there would be precedent for such a decision, since Reid ceded the Eagles’ offensive play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg in 2006, and the move led to a five-game winning streak.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

Jets running back Stevan Ridley, who is eligible to begin practicing this week, is nearing a return, writes Newsday’s Kimberley A. Martin. Coming off a major knee injury, Ridley started the year on the PUP list, which means he can play as early as Week 7, though he’ll have to be moved to the 53-man roster before he can be active.
Back in August, Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith announced that he’ll retire at the end of the 2015 season. However, given how poorly the year is playing out for Smith and his team, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com wonders if the veteran wideout will reconsider that stance, adding that Baltimore would “certainly welcome him back.”
Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post has the breakdown on Marshal Yanda‘s new contract with the Ravens, which features a $9MM signing bonus and about $15.8MM in fully guaranteed money (plus another $2MM guaranteed for injury only).
The fact that the Colts‘ botched fake punt on Sunday night made Indianapolis a national punchline likely won’t help Chuck Pagano‘s job security going forward, says Mike Wells of ESPN.com.

AFC Notes: Yanda, Bills, Chiefs

October 18th, 2015 at 6:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

Let’s look at some of the news coming out of the AFC as Week 6’s late-afternoon games wind down.

Marshal Yanda‘s extension showed the Ravens prioritizing a top-quality player as opposed to trying to pay for the future of a younger, less-proven performer in Kelechi Osemele, CBSSports.com’s Joel Corry tweets. The 31-year-old Yanda is five years Osemele’s senior but has four Pro Bowls and a first-team All-Pro honor to his credit. Corry notes Osemele, the Baltimore left guard, will now have a set price to re-sign with the Ravens or seek his second contract elsewhere like so many of his former teammates have in recent years.
In extending the All-Pro right guard, the Ravens showed not only a belief that Yanda will continue to play at a high level as his 30s progress but loyalty to one of the performers that’s exemplified their franchise, ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley writes. In calling Yanda the best Ravens offensive lineman since Jonathan Ogden, Hensley notes keeping Yanda marks a change in course from the franchise that parted ways with Ed Reed and Haloti Ngata, but listed Yanda’s dominant level of play as the difference-making factor here.
Kyle Williams likely won’t play in next week’s Bills-Jaguars tilt, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak, after suffering a knee injury. The veteran defensive tackle is believed to have suffered a PCL malady, which won’t require surgery but could sideline him for as long as four weeks, 550 WGR’s Sal Capaccio reports (on Twitter).
Mario Williams expressed confusion with a Bills defense that forced him to drop into coverage on numerous occasions, Syracuse.com’s Matthew Fairburn reports. Although the veteran who’s vacillated between defensive end and outside linebacker throughout his 10-year career denied being frustrated, Fairburn notes he used the phrase “plays that are called” more than a dozen times in a four-minute interview. “A lot is put on (the defensive line’s) shoulders as far as the amount given out to players on this team as far as income,” Williams said. “I would assume, those four guys, a lot is on their shoulders to go after the quarterback or stop the run, be disruptive. Like I say, if the call is three-man this or that, dropping, things like that, that’s the call.”
Both Jeremy Maclin and Mike DeVito sustained concussions in the Chiefs‘ loss to the Vikings, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports. Maclin’s totaled 37 receptions this season; the remainder of the Chiefs’ receiving corps has 28 combined.

AFC Notes: Yanda, Titans, Shorts, Skrine

October 17th, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Ben Levine

Following Marshal Yanda‘s four-year extension with the Ravens, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com writes that the lineman “has earned the right to finish his career in Baltimore.” When Yanda ultimately hangs it up, the writer believes he’ll be regarded as one of the best players in franchise history.

That sentiment was echoed by general manager Ozzie Newsome on Friday.

“Marshal Yanda is not only a staple of our offensive line but also a staple of our entire team,” he said. “He is the best of what a Raven should be.”

Predictably, Yanda was calm and collected while discussing his new contract.

“I look forward to carrying on the Baltimore Ravens’ great tradition,” he said. “Hopefully I will finish my career as a Raven.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the AFC…

The Titans should have an open roster spot when they inevitably place linebacker Deiontrez Mount on injured reserve. Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com expects that spot to either be filled by practice squad participants Jason Ankrah or Justin Staples. “At some point, everyone’s number gets called, so I just have to make sure I am ready so I can help the team,’’ Staples said. “I am excited. My body is feeling great and I am ready to get out there and fly around with my teammates.”
The Jaguars let wideout Cecil Shorts depart to the Texans this offseason, but the receiver isn’t upset that the team didn’t put more of an effort into retaining him. “That’s where I started my career and spent four years of my life,” Shorts told Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com. “I have nothing but love for that community and for the fans. It will be a little emotional, but it will be fun to compete.”
Buster Skrine certainly wasn’t one of the Jets‘ biggest offseason moves, but the former Browns defensive back has proven to be an invaluable part of New York’s defense, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

Ravens Extend Marshal Yanda Through 2019

October 16th, 2015 at 4:26pm CST by Luke Adams

4:26pm: Yanda’s deal is worth nearly $32MM, including a $9MM signing bonus and $17.8MM in guaranteed money, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The disparity between these figures and the ones reported earlier could be related to the deal’s base value vs. its max value. We’ll have to wait for the complete details on the extension to know exactly how much money is fully guaranteed, and what the per-year average is.

3:55pm: Yanda’s new deal averages $7.1MM per year, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That’s a raise on his old annual average salary, but not quite as expensive as some previous reports speculated. Wilson adds (via Twitter) that the contract features about $15MM guaranteed.

1:29pm: The Ravens have officially announced Yanda’s extension, which keeps him locked up through the 2019 season.

12:40pm: Yanda and the Ravens have reached an agreement on a new deal, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. It’s a four-year extension, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

12:33pm: The Ravens are closing in on a contract extension with veteran guard Marshal Yanda, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, who reports (via Twitter) that an agreement between the two sides should be finalized soon.

Yanda, who turned 31 last month, is one of the steadiest and most reliable guards in the league, having started all but two regular season games for the Ravens since the start of the 2011 season. He has also earned four consecutive Pro Bowl nods, and was named to his first All-Pro First Team in 2014.

Per Over the Cap’s data, Yanda’s previous contract placed him among the league’s highest-paid guards. According to OTC, no right guard earns a higher annual salary than Yanda’s $6.4MM average, while only four left guards make more than the Ravens standout — Logan Mankins ($8.5MM), Mike Iupati ($8MM), Orlando Franklin ($7.3MM), and Josh Sitton ($6.75MM) all have slightly higher annual averages, and two of those players signed new free agent contracts earlier this year.

Yanda’s contract had been set to expire at the end of the 2015 season, and his new deal figures to average just as much as his old one, if not more. I can’t imagine the former third-round pick getting a huge raise, since he’s in his early-30s now, but the Ravens clearly like him enough to make sure he didn’t reach free agency this winter. When Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Rumors examined the Ravens’ guards as extension candidates in June, he suggested something in the range of four years and perhaps $32MM might make sense for Yanda.

Of course, Yanda’s new deal leaves Baltimore’s other starting guard, Kelechi Osemele, as the possible next man up for an extension of his own. However, there has been some skepticism in recent months that the Ravens will have the cap flexibility to take care of both players, since clubs typically don’t devote significant chunks of cap space to guards. One July report suggested that Osemele could be the odd man out when the Ravens started locking up potential free agents.

Ravens Notes: Yanda, Osemele, Flacco, Tucker

July 10th, 2015 at 6:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the Ravens took care of one impending free agent contract yesterday — locking up punter Sam Koch to a five-year extension worth $18.75MM — the club’s roster still contains several key players who will head into the year on expiring contracts, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. I profiled the two most prominent FAs-to-be, guards Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele, earlier this year, and Wilson adds that while no deal is imminent with either player, Osemele could end up being the odd man out given his injury history, including a significant back ailment suffered just last season.

Let’s take a look at some more notes out of Baltimore…

Kicker Justin Tucker is another candidate for a multi-year deal, according to Wilson, who writes that the former undrafted free agent could eventually become the highest-paid kicker in the league, garnering more than $9MM in guarantees. At the minimum, the Ravens would use the franchise tag on Tucker next season, but it sounds like the two sides would like to work to come to an agreement.
The Ravens are expected to attempt to restructure the contract of quarterback Joe Flacco between now and the start of the new league year in March 2016, writes Wilson within his story on Koch’s extension yesterday. The news is unsurprising, as Flacco’s 2016 cap number of $28.55MM is projected to be the second-highest in the league. Flacco obviously wouldn’t be sacrificing any money, but a simple restructure — converting a portion of his base salary into a signing bonus — should be able to give Baltimore some breathing room.
The primary motive in negotiating a long-term deal with Koch wasn’t to clear out cap space for 2015, per Wilson. I had included Koch among the AFC North candidates for release earlier this week, speculating that the Ravens might to like to clear out, or at least reduce, Koch’s 2015 cap charge of $3.1MM (although I ultimately predicted he would not be cut). However, Wilson reports that the extension was instead aimed at solidifying the contract status of a well-respected veteran, meaning the deal can be viewed more as a reward than a financial maneuver. (It should be noted, though, that Koch’s cap number for next year will decrease by $700K; Wilson has the entire breakdown of the deal here.)

AFC North Notes: Bell, Steelers, Ravens

June 17th, 2015 at 8:43pm CST by Zachary Links

For the past two years, veteran defensive end Chris Canty has lined up with the Ravens‘ starting defense. He anticipates continuing that in 2015. “I’ve been a starter in this league for a decade, I don’t really see that changing,” Canty said, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. “That’s what I foresee. Things change. It’s a very fluid situation, but that’s what I have in mind for my role being on this football team on our defensive unit.” Canty, a 10-year veteran, signed a two-year deal worth $4.65MM with Baltimore back in March. Here’s more from the AFC North..

The three-game suspension for Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was announced more than two months ago, but Bell says his appeal has yet to be heard, and he’s not sure when it will be, tweets Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In most cases, an appeal hearing takes place within a few weeks of the appeal being filed, so I’m not sure why there’s such a delay for Bell’s case.
Ravens guard Kelechi Osemele says that he feels good about his body of work as he enters his contract year, Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun writes. The former second-round draft pick is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, when his four-year rookie deal expires. “I feel really good about what I’ve shown,” said Osemele. “Obviously, it helps to come in here and win a Super Bowl. That’s always a good thing, but, on top of that, I’ve had great teammates and a great coaching staff behind me.” Wilson hears that no deal is imminent for Osemele or teammate Marshal Yanda.
After restructuring his deal earlier this offseason, cornerback Lardarius Webb is passionate about taking on a special teams role as the Ravens‘ primary punt returner, Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun writes. However, it remains to be seen whether Baltimore will greenlight that given his injury history. Webb’s new deal takes him through 2017 but his base pay in 2016 and 2017 is non-guaranteed.