Although he hasn't filed any official paperwork, Baltimore Ravens left tackle
Jonathan Ogden is telling the team to operate under the assumption that
he's retiring.
"I have not officially retired, but ... the Ravens know to proceed with their offseason plans as if I'm retiring. So if I come back, it's great, they said, but they're proceeding as if I'm not."
Ogden is one of the best offensive linemen of his generation, and at his best he put up some of the most dominant performances any offensive lineman has ever had. But in the last few years he has suffered from hamstring and toe injuries that have caused him to miss seven games, and when he has played, he hasn't been as good as he was in his prime.
"It's just frustrating, because I couldn't play, especially this last year, at the level that I'm used to playing at, and that kind of irritates me," Ogden said at L.A. Boxing, a gym he and his wife, Kema, opened March 1. "I'm a perfectionist out there on the football field, and that's kind of why I'm leaning toward retiring.
If Ogden does retire, he'll be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Unlike
Brett Favre, who will definitely get in that year, Ogden isn't a lock. But I think he should be. Few have ever played the position better.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Why is Ogden not a lock for making the Hall of Fame as a first ballot? We're talking about a guy had 11 straight Pro Bowl selections, was an All-Pro 9 times, won a Super Bowl, and is very popular. He is widely considered not only one of the best offensive tackles of his generation, like you said, but also as perhaps one of the greatest offensive tackles of all-time. If anything, he should also be a first ballot Hall of Famer.
Posted at 11:03AM on Mar 14th 2008 by Law