During the past couple of weeks, Ravens right offensive tackle Willie Anderson seemed to be headed the way of veteran cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle.
Thank you for your services, but we're moving in another direction.
But Anderson said there was a communication problem between the Ravens' coaching staff and him about whether he was going to retire after last season.
That didn't seem to concern Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome. When Newsome inquired about signing former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Marvel Smith or the New Orleans Saints' Jon Stinchcomb, he had only one plan in mind.
"Hey, I'm always looking to improve this football team," Newsome said. "At this point, we have no plans to bring in any tackles."
When asked yesterday whether he heard anything about retirement plans for Anderson, Newsome said no, and added, "but I know there has been some communication with our coaches about Willie's plan to play lately."
The Ravens spent last week putting out any fires with Anderson. The four-time Pro Bowl performer said he talked with coach John Harbaugh last week and later met with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and offensive line coach John Matsko in Atlanta to get this retirement talk out of the way.
It appears if the Ravens could have upgraded, they would have cut Anderson and saved $2.9 million against the salary cap. But because they couldn't, they have to settle for Anderson, which isn't a bad thing.
Anderson started 11 of 14 games and played reasonably well in 2008, especially when you consider he signed with the Ravens just two days before the opener. Anderson is coming back in 2009 with a chip on his shoulder.
"I might be a 14-year guy, but I've never thought about retiring," Anderson said. "As long as I can bend my knees, move my feet, don't get my quarterback killed and don't embarrass myself, I'm going to play, and I want to show people I'm still an elite tackle.
"They haven't seen the real me play yet."
Going back to his long career in Cincinnati, Anderson was always one of the better and more physical run blockers in the NFL. He was one of the league's iron men, starting 116 straight games until a knee injury forced him out of a Bengals game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 14, 2007.
Anderson played in seven games that season while missing nine with foot and knee injuries. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis released Anderson, but the Ravens thought he could be at least an ample backup for Adam Terry on the right side. As Terry battled leg injuries, Anderson became the starter.
