12-year veteran Yanda says he has plenty left

blockers struggled in the preseason opener The game hurts him, and he loves it against the Chicago Bears and in two more, not less. practices this week against the Los Angeles

“Every single year that I played, it’s Rams. meant more to me,” he said. “It’s been more Even with quarterback Joe Flacco healimportant. There’s nothing else but football thy and Lamar Jackson in the fold, they as you get older.” intend to remain a run-first team, and

That’s reassuring to Ravens players and Yanda is one of the finest interior blockers coaches, who feel bolstered every time the in recent NFL history, as nasty as he is team’s best and most experienced offensive flexible. lineman walks on the field. “It’s really important,” Harbaugh said of

“Tough, physical, one of the great having his All-Pro guard back on the field. leaders,” offensive coordinator Marty “Marshal makes a big difference in our Mornhinweg said, ticking off Yanda’s offensive line. What’s the exponential virtues. “He plays at a high level, and he number? What’s the percentage better? A does it on a real,lot.”realconsistentbasis.The things some people don’t notice from the Yanda’s dozen seasons in the NFL have outside is that leadership in the building, in been defined by pain almost as much as the huddle, on the field in games. He’s just excellence, or perhaps excellence in the fantastic that way.” face of pain.

After passing his physical on the weekHe missed 11 games after he tore his ACL end, Yanda began individual drills Monday in 2008, endured an emergency surgery on and took a few no-contact repetitions with his right leg late in the 2011 season, had his the starting offense Tuesday. He estimates shoulder repaired after the 2012 Super Bowl he’ll need three weeks to reach game shape, season and again after the 2016 season but it’s conceivable he won’t return to (when he switched to left guard midway games until the regular-season opener Sept. through the schedule to protect his injured 9 against the Buffalo Bills. side) and fractured his ankle in the second

For now, he and Ravens coach John game of last season. Harbaugh aren’t saying. The ankle injury particularly bothered

The Ravens need Yanda, a reality that the stoic Iowan, because he could not grit became more obvious as their reserve his teeth and play through it. He was forced to sit out a significant stretch of games for the first time since 2008.

Yanda had just about recovered from the ankle injury last December when he felt pain shoot through his rotator cuff during a weightlifting session at the Ravens’ training complex in Owings Mills.

“It was a punch to the gut,” he said. “I was pissed off about it. That’s a tough thing. Obviously, I was training and lifting and training to get better.”

He could’ve attempted to work through the injury, but he opted for surgery and the guarantee that he’d be ready for Week 1 this fall.

Despite his daunting list of injuries, Yanda missed just five games and made six Pro Bowls between 2009 and 2016.

He’s demonstrated a remarkable ability to reach peak form almost as soon as he returns from an injury, or to adapt seamlessly when he switches positions, as he has to cover for his own injuries or injuries to the team’s tackles.

He seems confident he’ll do it again in 2018, even with the accumulated wear on his legs and shoulders. “I feel like I’ve always been a really good healer,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’ve always attacked my rehab.”

He’s also inspired by what he’s seen from a Ravens offense piloted by a healthy Flacco and featuring three new wide receivers.

“The plays in the passing game are what’s jumping off on the tape right now,” he said. “You can see the separation of the receivers and the guys catching the ball. … And obviously, Joe’s practicing this camp. That makes a big difference. He’s looking great, and the offensive line, they’re grinding. Things are looking good. I’m excited. You can just see it on film that things are going well.”

OnSaturday, Yanda joined the contingent of Ravens who traveled to Canton, Ohio, to watch their former teammate, Ray Lewis, enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The same honor could loom in Yanda’s future, given that he’s probably the finest guard of his generation.

But for now, he’s disinterested in contemplating life on the other side of football.

“As a general rule of thumb, once you get to 10 years, every year you kind of have to re-assess and re-evaluate,” he said. “But last year, with me playing pretty much not at all, there was no question I definitely wanted to play this fall and get after it and be a part of it. I’ll definitely take my time after this season, but right now, I’m focused on this year and doing my part. And like I said, I’m fired up to play.”