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Jonathan Ogden made it official Thursday, announcing his retirement after 12 NFL seasons. The move was widely expected, and the Ravens had already begun planning for life without him. Earlier in June, they had confirmed their plans to completely reshuffle their offensive line.
That is the type of blueprint you can unveil once you're certain a surefire Hall of Famer is gone, never to return.
Ogden could still start for many clubs; such are his abilities, even after more than a decade of play at a physical position and a painful big-toe injury that eventually zapped his will to carry on with his career. The Ravens will plug Jared Gaither, 22, into Ogden's spot in the lineup and hope the falloff in play isn't crippling to a line with new starters anticipated at all five spots.
The 6-foot-9 Gaither has considerable potential. Whether he lives up to it is anyone's guess. That has to be especially unsettling to the Ravens, who haven't had to worry about their OLT play in more than a decade.
Ogden's retirement has led to much reminiscing about the Ravens' storied 1996 draft. With the No. 4 overall pick, owner Art Modell wanted to select Nebraska RB Lawrence Phillips; Ozzie Newsome, then the club's vice president of player personnel, wanted Ogden.
Modell deferred to Newsome, and the Ravens reaped the rewards. Twenty-two picks later, Newsome addressed the defense, drafting Miami (Fla.) LB Ray Lewis.
Twelve years later, and Newsome is secure as the Ravens' general manager and executive vice president. And Lewis, 33, is still secure as a starter on a ferocious defense. One day he'll get his call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but probably not until after Ogden, who will likely be inducted in the Class of 2013, on his first appearance on the ballot.
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Jonathan Ogden
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Few left tackles in league history were as dominant or did things as easily.
"The frustrating thing with J.O.," said Ravens ORG Marshal Yanda, who began his career at right tackle, "is you're trying to do things like him, but you can't."
Ogden's feet were legendary, out of an offensive line coach's dreams. At 6-foot-9 and 345 pounds, there was no easy way around him.
He was the Ravens' first draft choice after the controversial move to Baltimore. Were he to have struggled — or, worse, were the Ravens to have selected Phillips — the team may have never won a Super Bowl. And think about the trickle-down effect on the offense. Certainly, Baltimore never had a truly potent offense in Ogden's 12 years of service, but at least the Ravens usually could run the ball.
Imagine life without Ogden? The Ravens wish that were a passing daydream instead of reality to be fully, and finally, confronted today.
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