Baltimore Ravens guard Marshal Yanda called it a career earlier this week after 13 seasons in the NFL. When Yanda was originally drafted it looked as if it was to be a replacement at left tackle for the anchor of the line Jonathan Ogden after he would retire, those plans didn’t exactly work out but Yanda made his mark in another way.
Starting in 2008 Yanda would make five starts at right guard and the rest became history, Yanda not only became the best guard in Baltimore Ravens history but became one of the best guards in NFL history.
His trip to the top of the league’s offensive lineman started with his work ethic, growing up on a pig farm in Iowa Yanda understood it took hard work and dedication to become the best at any given task.
Yanda was never the most physically gifted lineman in the country—one big reason he was drafted in the third-round in 2007 (10th lineman)—but he may have always been the toughest. Growing up on that farm in Iowa gave Yanda “country boy strength” as well as grit and determination to become the best at what he did.
Stories of Yanda’s toughness and willpower hold great status to those in Baltimore and those who know the true Yanda. One of the most epic stories came during his rookie season where he was bet $600 to get tasered three times, Yanda made light work of that, not even going down to a knee, and said it may have been the easiest $600 he ever made.
In late 2012 Yanda needed an emergency surgery on his calf after surgeons split a muscle into his lower leg and he was back on the field one game later. These were the types of stories about his toughness which made everyone in the organization respect him even more.
The respect for Yanda ran much deeper than just his toughness, his work ethic was also legendary and earned him immense respect. Whenever Yanda would take part in a drill you could just see that he was giving it all he had and was never taking any shortcuts, players admired that and that quickly made Yanda one of the team’s leaders.
All of this work helped Yanda become one of only three guards in NFL history with at least eight pro bowl appearances as a guard and a Super Bowl victory, with the others being Alan Faneca and Larry Allen.
After a fantastic career full of accolades, Yanda is tied with Ogden for the most appearances in regular season games of any lineman in Ravens history with 177. Being able to be in the same sentence with Ogden is a great accomplishment and one that is well deserved for Yanda.
For 12 seasons the guard position was locked up by Yanda, now that he is gone the Ravens will have to find someone to replace him both on the field and off the field, which will not be easy. Yanda epitomized what it meant to be a lineman in the NFL and we wish him the best in his retirement.