Teams looking to shore up their rosters for years to come unveiled a couple of contract extensions on Thursday. The Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants will retain the services of Marshall Yanda and Sterling Shepard for the foreseeable future.
Yanda and Ravens agree on one-year extension
Seven-time Pro Bowl guard Marshall Yanda and the Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a one-year extension that will keep him with the team through the 2020 NFL season.
NFL- Baltimore Ravens sign G Marshall Yanda to a 1 year contract extension, keeping him in Baltimore through the 2020 season pic.twitter.com/Z9g8I4C01i
— JDF Media (@_jdfmedia) April 11, 2019
Yanda was entering the final year of a four-year, $32 million deal. The 34-year-old guard has long been known as one of the best at his position in the league, with a recurring spot on the NFL Network’s annual Top 100 Players show. Last season Yanda was the No. 4 rated guard by Pro Football Focus.
“In regards to Marshal, we love Marshal, and we’d love Marshal to continue to play for us for years,” DeCosta said during Baltimore’s April 2 news conference. “He’s a great player. He’s still playing at a high level. He’s a Raven. You can define a Raven and put a picture of Marshal Yanda up there, and that’s him.”
There’s no worry of that changing now. Yanda, if he wants to continue playing after this contract, will likely be looking at a series of one-year deals before he retires like the Los Angeles Rams’ Andrew Whitworth.
Giants and Shepard agree on new, four-year deal
The New York Giants have shed talented wide receivers this offseason, but don’t plan on moving on from Sterling Shepard. The former Oklahoma standout reportedly signed a four-year, $41 million contract extension with $21.3 million in guaranteed cash.
Source: The #Giants are finalizing a four-year, $41 million extension with WR Sterling Shepard, source says. Their longest-tenured receiver is now their highest-paid. Strong deal for Shepard, who gets more than what most free agent WRs got this spring.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 10, 2019
Shepard was a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Last year he caught 66 passes for 872 yards and four touchdowns. His yardage and catch totals were career highs.
Last month the Giants added Golden Tate to the roster as a free agent.
