In the end, it wasn?t a defensive tackle or a linebacker that brought down left tackle Jonathan Ogden.
It was his big left toe.
The 6-foot-9, 345-pound Ogden will announce his retirement today at a mid-morning news conference at the team?s Owings Mills complex, ending a 12-year Hall of Fame career and months of speculation that the first draft pick in franchise history had played his last game.
Ogden, who was limited to 11 games last season due to the toe injury, is in Baltimore for his charity golf tournament and informed Ravens? officials of his decision on Wednesday. The Ravens? coaching staff had hoped Ogden might return for a final season, but the 11-time Pro Bowl selection never fully recovered from a hyper-extended toe on his left foot, which he originally suffered late in the 2006 season.
When asked about his decision, Ogden simply said “I?m good with it.”
Ogden, who the team took with the fourth pick of the 1996 draft, has not participated in any of the Ravens? offseason practices. Second-year player Jared Gaither has manned Ogden?s position during most of the offseason workouts. Gaither, who played at the University of Maryland, sat out Wednesday?s practices in Owings Mills with migraines.
“The point is we haven?t had him,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Ogden. “He hasn?t been here practicing with us so you practice without him. Jared Gaither has jumped in there at left tackle. He?s young and he?s no J.O. But he?s had a chance to watch him for a year and he has many of the same skill sets that J.O. has. He has a longway to go to be a great offensive tackle in this league but we?re really pleased with his progress.”
Ogden?s retirement leaves the Ravens needing to fill to holes in their offensive line, as they also released long-time center Mike Flynn during the offseason. Jason Brown, who played center for three years at the University of North Carolina, will fill that void.
Brown, who had played guard prior to this season, said he has learned a lot from Ogden, 33, since joining the Ravens as a fourth-round pick in 2005.
“We would have loved to have had J.O. here in the offseason, but we haven?t,” Brown said. “It?s given the young guys a lot of time to come together and mold together and to get to know one another. When you have someone like J.O. playing beside you, he brought me along so fast and so quick. He helped me to be a veteran player sooner than I thought I would have been. Just going out there, he gave me that veteran leadership. He wouldn?t always tell me what to do, the right things to do, but you know what, if I ever did something wrong, he would let me know.”
Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller said Ogden didn?t speak in the huddle often.
“He wasn?t vocal, but he was a leader, a big-time leader,” Boller said. “We?re going to miss that. I wish him well and I?m sure he?ll be on that golf course a lot.That toe injury has got to be emotionally draining, too. That big toe, as big as he is, you?ve got to have that thing. I?m sure he got frustrated with the whole situation. He probably sat down and decided he wasn?t going to be able to do it anymore.”
