Wide receiver Derrick Mason has reconsidered retirement and has decided that he will play for the Ravens in 2009.
“It was a tough decision, but I think it was a good decision for me to come back,” Mason said. “I needed to evaluate my life, football and my career. The last several weeks thinking about it and talking with my family was an important time for me and them.
“I still have an intense fire inside me, and I want to play. My family and I wanted to finish it out the right way. I felt like I had left something undone, and I wanted to finish it. I believe this is a good example for my son and my daughter on how to be thoughtful and also follow through.”
“I wanted to make sure that when I do retire, I won’t have any regrets,” he said. “As I’ve thought about this and talked about this with my family, I realized I would have regrets if I didn’t come back.
“I think I’m in great shape. I have been working out, and I was part of the offseason program. I’m ready to get out there with my teammates.”
This is great news for the Ravens, who would have been desperately thin at receiver without Mason. While he isn’t a spring chicken at 35 years old, Mason did haul in 80 passes last year for 1,037 yards and five touchdowns. He was Baltimore best playmaker in Baltimore’s passing game last year and Joe Flacco’s number one target.
Again, this is great news for the Ravens.
