Longtime Ravens radio announcer Gerry Sandusky has retired.
Sandusky has been the Ravens’ play-by-play voice since 2006. He announced today that he is leaving both his job with the Ravens and his job as sports director at WBAL.
“This isn’t a decision I made lightly,” Sandusky said. “I have loved sharing the stories that shape Baltimore sports with viewers, and I have loved every minute of sharing Ravens games with listeners. But the time has come for me to pass those batons and pour more of my attention on my family. I want to thank every viewer and every listener who shared this journey with me. It’s been an honor. And yes, for my broadcasting career, ‘The hay is in the barn.’ And it feels right.”
The Ravens recognized Sandusky’s efforts today.
“As the ‘Voice of the Ravens,’ Gerry brought a distinct flavor and aptitude that captured every emotion of Baltimore football,” Ravens President Sashi Brown said. “While Gerry’s in-game knowledge was second to none, it was his exceptional talent to ‘illustrate with words’ that truly sparked a long-lasting connection amongst our fans. From thrilling championship victories to agonizing defeats, Gerry witnessed it all — consistently doing so with a style marked by professionalism, passion and Maryland pride.”
Sandusky is not related to the former Penn State assistant coach and convicted child sexual abuser Jerry Sandusky. As the Penn State scandal unfolded, Gerry Sandusky frequently received abuse online for people who mistook him for Jerry Sandusky. Gerry Sandusky said he wouldn’t change his name and was proud to have the name given to him by his parents. Gerry’s father John Sandusky had a six-year NFL career as a player and later had a long career as a coach, including becoming head coach of the Baltimore Colts.
Free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Giants head coach John Harbaugh sat down together at this week’s league meeting in Arizona.
No deal is imminent but the Giants do have interest in brining Beckham back, according to ESPN.
Harbaugh, who coached Beckham in 2023 on the Ravens, said at the league meeting that he and Beckham have remained in touch, and that he considers Beckham one of his favorite people in the world.
Beckham didn’t play at all last season, and Giants General Manager Joe Schoen said the Giants would need to work him out before they’d sign him.
“Somebody that hasn’t played, in this instance you’re talking about Odell hasn’t played in a year, you’d certainly want to see him work out,” Schoen said.
Beckham hasn’t gained even 600 receiving yards in a season since 2019, so he’s long past the days when he was one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. But that’s what he was on the Giants, and the Giants sound open to at least giving him a chance to come in for a workout and show he can still play.
Ravens head coach Jesse Minter said earlier this offseason that it’s incumbent on the team to make players believe it is important to attend the voluntary portions of the offseason program and one of the players they’ll need to persuade is quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Jackson has skipped voluntary work in the past and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle’s general February comments that the team expects players to be there as they install a new offense could be read as a message to Jackson in particular. On Tuesday, Minter repeated that it is “our job to make it an environment and an opportunity” that players feel they’re getting a lot out of in the offseason.
Minter was asked later in the session if he expects Jackson to be in attendance when the Ravens program gets going next week.
“I think Lamar is really excited about what we have going on,” Minter said. “I think he’s excited about opportunities in the offseason program. And again, we’ll see on April 6. We’ll see who all walks in the door.”
The only mandatory work on the Ravens’ offseason schedule is a June minicamp, but the team will be hoping that’s not the only time Jackson is around the team in the coming months.
The Cowboys tried hard to trade for Maxx Crosby. They reportedly made three offers for the edge rusher.
Dallas, though, did not come close to the offer the Ravens made, and the Raiders agreed to trade Crosby to Baltimore for two first-round draft picks.
However, Crosby’s physical with the team four days later prompted the Ravens to back out of the deal. Doctors expressed concerns about a degenerative issue in Crosby’s knee, with Dr. Dan Cooper, the Cowboys’ team physician, among those the Ravens consulted.
The Ravens drew intense criticism for reneging on the deal, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that until a player passes a physical, nothing is final.
“For me, there’s no hidden item there,” Jones said, via Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “You have to pass a physical. You have to. And we’ve never completed an agreement until the player passes a physical. That implies that your doctors, your trainers and everybody involved gets to take a look at him. That goes with the territory. We would have basically had the same conditions with the physical. As you know, we were in on making an offer for him. So he would have come to Dallas, and we’ll all just guess what would have happened.”
Crosby is expected to play for the Raiders this season, but Jones was asked whether the Cowboys might have interest in exploring a trade at a later date.
“Standing here right now, I don’t anticipate revisiting that situation. Is it possible? Yes,” Jones said.
The Ravens continue to field questions about the fallout from the failed trade for Maxx Crosby. On Tuesday, it was head coach Jesse Minter’s turn with the media.
“So much respect for Maxx,” Minter said. “We were obviously excited about it, and then disappointed about it. I’m not going to speak to many details about it. Tons of respect for him as a player and the Raiders as an organization.”
The Ravens agreed to send two first-round draft picks to the Raiders for Crosby on March 6. Four days later, following Crosby’s physical with the team, the Ravens reneged on the deal because of concerns about a degenerative issue in Crosby’s knee.
Crosby returned to the Raiders, and the Ravens pivoted to Trey Hendrickson, whom they signed as a free agent.
The Ravens continue to take heat for rescinding the deal, but team president Sashi Brown defended the move on Monday. Brown blamed the criticism on a “slow news cycle.”
