Marshal Yanda received some contract assurances beyond this season.
The Baltimore RavensPro Bowl guard signed a one-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday. Yanda was set to enter the final year of his deal. Now he's under contract through 2020.
ESPN first reported the extension.
Offseason speculation suggested that the 34-year-old guard was considering retirement. The extension wouldn't preclude Yanda from re-evaluating next offseason but suggests he's planning on playing beyond the 2019 campaign.
Since being drafted in the third round of the 2007 draft, Yanda has become one of the most dominant guards in the game. In 12 NFL seasons, he's earned two first-team All-Pro selections, four second-team nods, and seven Pro Bowls, including in 2018. When Yanda missed all but two games in 2017 due to injury, the Baltimore offensive line struggled mightily. Pro Football Focus has Yanda as the second-highest graded guard in their entire history (since 2006).
Losing Yanda would have left a massive, massive hole in the Ravens' offensive line. The contract extension could mean the team won't have to live without him for two more years.
