“My job is to assess his worth relevant to the rest of the market and his value relative to that city and that organization,” said Linta, who explained there is no set timetable for a new contract. “He’s arguably one of the faces of the franchise right now, if not the face of the franchise. As he goes, they go.”
Birk still pondering future
Linta also represents veteran center Matt Birk, who is contemplating retirement after three seasons with the Ravens.
After 14 years in the NFL and six Pro Bowl selections, Birk is an unrestricted free agent and has stated his preference to remain in Baltimore if he chooses to play in 2012. However, general manager Ozzie Newsome stated at the organization’s end-of-season press conference that the Ravens plan to bring a new center into the fold via the draft or free agency.
After backing up Birk for one season in Baltimore, veteran center Andre Gurode — a five-time Pro Bowl selection with Dallas — will also become an unrestricted free agent. Even if Birk decides he wants to play one more season, the Ravens could choose to go in a different direction.
“The day after the season’s over, it’s about a one-percent chance they come back,” said Linta in describing older players making a decision on retirement. “Then, it jumps about 10 percent every couple of weeks until it hits about 60, 70, 80 percent. Then, it’s kind of like, “OK, I’m going to do it or not do it.’ I would expect this out of Matt being the pro that he is and having had a really good year.
“He”ll sit back and think about this and if he’s going to play, he’s going to come in and play as a starter and he’s going to play at a Pro Bowl caliber level.”
Despite undergoing knee surgery during training camp and missing the entire preseason, the 35-year-old Birk played in all 16 regular-season games but appeared to wear down at the end of the season as the offensive line struggled against physical defensive fronts in the postseason.
To hear the full interview with Linta from Wednesday’s edition of “The Reality Check” on AM 1570 WNST, click HERE.
Flacco's agent foresees amicable contract talks with Ravens
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
8
Paid Advertisement
Podcast Audio Vault
88Paid Advertisement
Share the Post:
8Paid Advertisement
Right Now in Baltimore
It's the people who elevate the neighborhood vibe at Koco's Pub in Lauraville
We get the privilege of going all over town with our Maryland Crab Cake Tour but nothing takes it back to the old neighborhood like an afternoon at Koco's Pub in Lauraville and doing the show between the kitchen and the bar with Marcella Knight, who has been celebrating 40 years of local business by making even more of her mother's elevated and amazing crab cakes.
Ravens had little choice but to draft Ioane to anchor interior offensive line
Protecting Lamar Jackson and getting the interior offensive line to a better place were just too important to put off any longer.
Telling four decades of the history of local high school sports
No one has covered local high school sports longer or better than Gary Adornato, who joins Nestor at Koco's Pub and updates us on the modern journalism and news gathering being done on the prep circuit in the era of NIL, and with college sports in disarray and kids focusing on one sport far earlier. We've come a long way since the "All Metro" pages of The Baltimore Sun back in the 1980s...
888Paid Advertisement
