Derrick Mason

For six seasons, Derrick Mason left cornerbacks slipping on the turf with his signature comeback routes - cuts that were sharp, surgical, and effective. Now, as he sprints into life after football, Mason may soon swerve back to Baltimore to retire as a member of the Ravens. Mason, the franchise's all-time leader in career receptions and receiving yards, told The Baltimore Sun on Friday he hopes to retire as a Raven. The 38-year-old has spoken with team officials about his desire, and it will likely happen once he officially retires.

For six seasons, Derrick Mason left cornerbacks slipping on the turf with his signature comeback routes - cuts that were sharp, surgical, and effective. Now, as he sprints into life after football, Mason may soon swerve back to Baltimore to retire as a member of the Ravens. Mason, the franchise's all-time leader in career receptions and receiving yards, told The Baltimore Sun on Friday he hopes to retire as a Raven. The 38-year-old has spoken with team officials about his desire, and it will likely happen once he officially retires.

Despite being cut before the start of the Ravens training camp, former Baltimore wide receiver Derrick Mason has played well for the Jets, and had six catches in New York's loss to Oakland on Sunday. Mason will be one of three receivers the Ravens have to stop Sunday night here at M&T Bank Stadium. The other two are Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes. Mason is tied with two other receivers for third in receptions with ten. "Not having the OTA's and all that kind of stuff, we kind of just threw him to the wolves, so to speak," said Jets coach Rex Ryan.

This is the first installment of a three-part series in which Baltimore Sun staff writer Matt Vensel examines all three phases of the Ravens and how those areas can be improved this offseason. He will tackle the Ravens defense in Friday's newspaper and the special teams unit on Saturday. The Ravens, who made significant changes to their receiving corps during each of the past two offseasons, would benefit from continuity and stability on offense as they transition into 2012.

When at least 20 Ravens players take the field at Towson University next week for informal workouts organized by wide receiver Derrick Mason, the Ravens will join the growing list of teams whose players decided to practice on their own during the NFL lockout. These workouts have become a hot topic. There is concern among some teams and some players about the injury risk involved when players are taking part in football drills away from team supervision . If a player suffers a serious injury now, it would be considered a “non-football injury,” which means it puts his contract in jeopardy after the lockout.

Paul Kruger hasn't lit up the stat sheet in his three years with the Ravens, but the outside linebacker may have made an indelible impression when he exchanged a few pleasantries with New York Jets wide receiver Derrick Mason. On third down-and-8 from the Jets' 36-yard line, Mason, a former Raven, caught a pass from quarterback Mark Sanchez, but was wrestled to the turf by Kruger one yard short of a first down. Afterward, Kruger and Mason traded some shoves, and other players joined in the fray before cooler heads prevailed.

Hours after his former Ravens teammates said they would welcome his return, wide receiver Derrick Mason shocked them by announcing he would sign with the New York Jets. Mason, 37, is the Ravens' all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. The Ravens released him prior to camp to create $4.5 million in salary-cap room. "After a lot of very thoughtful and careful consideration, conversations with my family and prayer, I have decided to sign with the New York Jets," Mason said in a statement.

Browns cornerback Eric Wright, who was torched by Anquan Boldin for three touchdowns in Week 3, recently told The Cleveland Plain Dealer that Browns fans threatened his life last season . Appearing on "The Norris & Davis Show" on 105.7 The Fan this morning, Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason was asked if he had ever received a death threat . He said no, adding that if you're going to threaten someone, you better do it to his...

The last time Derrick Mason stood at his dressing stall inside M&T Bank Stadium after a game that counted, the Ravens receiver was talking about feeling like a forgotten man in his team's forgettable offense. That was in last season's playoff defeat to the Indianapolis Colts and Mason, used to being a go-to guy in Baltimore and before that in Tennessee, had caught just two passes for 16 yards to finish off his least productive year since 2000. Mason felt, and acted, a lot differently last night.

It was near the midway point of the morning practice yesterday, and Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason ran one of those post-corner routes, leaving cornerback Ronnie Prude in another zip code. Mason easily hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass. Minutes later, Mason was shaking veteran cornerback Chris McAlister loose as well. Regardless of who lines up against him, Mason, 34, doesn't seem to have lost a step. Despite 710 career receptions and 170 games played throughout a stellar 11-season career, Mason, at least for now, is winning the battle against an opponent that has not lost a fight: Father Time.

Lost in Tebow-mania and all the NFL playoff hoopla this week was the fact that Derrick Mason, the former Ravens wide receiver who is the franchise's all-time leader in pass receptions (471) and yards (5,777), has quietly announced his intention to retire. In his six seasons in Baltimore, the two-time Pro Bowler quickly emerged as a media favorite in the Ravens locker room and the go-to guy for anyone with questions about the offense. Smart, funny and articulate, Mason was also the ultimate loyal soldier, ready at a moment's notice to defend any of his teammates from what he felt was unwarranted criticism from the talk-show blowhards and ink-stained rabble-rousers in the press.

The benefits of the playoff bye weekend were obvious to John Harbaugh . The Ravens coach said players nursing various injuries and ailments appear much improved after getting the opportunity to rest for three consecutive days over the weekend. "From an injury perspective, we look good," Harbaugh said during his weekly conference Monday. "We anticipate everybody playing in the game [against the Houston Texans Sunday]. " Harbaugh said the turf toe injury that shelved inside linebacker Ray Lewis for four consecutive games earlier in the season is no longer a concern.

After a nomadic 2011 campaign that included stops with the New York Jets and Houston Texans, Derrick Mason has concluded that it is time to end his 15-year career. “Right now, I'm just doing some analysis and spending time with my kids,” the former Ravens wide receiver told The Sun's Mike Preston from his home in Nashville. “Physically, I feel fine and I can still go play. Mentally, I've had enough. I know it's my time to get out and I plan to retire.” Mason, who was waived by the Ravens in the offseason, did not encounter much success, catching just 19 passes for 170 yards with the Jets and Texans.

If the Ravens are going to win the AFC North and clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs, they'll have to do it without veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin. Boldin, who leads the team in receiving yards and is second to running back Ray Rice in receptions, had surgery Thursday to repair a “slight” meniscus tear in his knee and he'll miss at least the final two games of the regular season. “It flapped up on him, I think it was Tuesday night after the walk-through,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh.

Derrick Mason has gotten around over the past five months. He was released by the Ravens when the NFL lockout ended. The New York Jets traded him in October. And after his brief stint with the Houston Texans ended last week, he found himself in the studio as a guest analyst for NFL Network. In this video from NFL Network , Mason breaks down the young quarterbacks he played with in his recent NFL odyssey: Joe Flacco of the Ravens, Mark Sanchez of the Jets and T.J. Yates of the Texans.

Derrick Mason played six seasons for the Ravens, and he also saw them just two weeks ago while he was with the New York Jets. That prompted the obvious question to Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak on whether the decision to acquire the veteran receiver Tuesday night was motivated partly by a desire to get more information on the Ravens, their opponent Sunday.   "Not at all. We're going through some issues right now as a football team," Kubiak said this morning on a conference call with Ravens reporters.

Gather around, NFL draft picks. Grab your shoulder pads and new playbooks and please find a seat. There are a couple of people you need to meet. Our first speaker today is Sarah Blackwell. She is 81 years old and has lived in the same home in Turners Station for more than six decades. Her husband, Reggie, worked at the Sparrows Point shipyard and later Bethlehem Steel. They bought their house at the southern end of Dundalk -- the oldest black neighborhood in the area -- when they married, and together they raised two children there.

Before every game, Derrick Mason picks out a Bible verse and writes it on his shoes. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, Mason jotted down earlier this preseason, a reminder to never take anything for granted. "A lot of people get caught up in me, me, me," Mason said. In a career grounded by patience and endurance, Mason doesn't seem to fit in this generation's group of star receivers. Mild-mannered and soft-spoken, he doesn't have the stereotypical big body or the big ego. He is the anti-Randy Moss, one who goes all-out on every play.

Jets wide receiver Derrick Mason's short stay in New York basically ended Sunday when he was replaced by rookie Jeremy Kerely, who hauled in several passes in New York's loss to New England. Not only was Kerely more impressive and younger than Mason, but his emergence showed that the Jets didn't have to put up with Mason's mouth any longer. Jets head coach Rex Ryan says he doesn't put a muzzle on players, but a Jets player can't have a bigger mouth than Ryan, not in the Big Apple.

Derrick Mason will be playing at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday for the second time in three weeks. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the Houston Texans, who play the Ravens this weekend, have acquired the veteran wide receiver from the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick. The move makes plenty of sense because Andre Johnson, the Texans' star receiver, is out with a hamstring injury, and Mason had clearly fallen out of favor in New York. Mason played just five snaps in the Jets' 30-21 loss to the New England Patriots last Sunday as rookie Jeremy Kerley took over third receiver duties.