Posted by Josh Katzowitz

After the Ravens re-signed OL Marshal Yanda on Tuesday, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh could hardly contain his excitement.

“We got Marshall Yanda! That’s great news,” Harbaugh said, via the Ravens official site.

“He told us he wanted to be a Raven and he understood the business part that he had to go through. I’m beaming, you see Ozzie smile and is there anyone more excited than [offensive line coach] Andy Moeller right now? We’re a better team than we were one hour ago.”

It wasn’t cheap, though. According to Ravens Insider Aaron Wilson, the contract is somewhere in the five-year, $32 million range.

Yanda was a huge part of the team last season, moving to RT in place of injured Jared Gaither and starting 16 games, and with Yanda, Gaither, Chris Chester and Tony Moll all Ravens OL in unrestricted free agency, the signing obviously is a huge sigh of relief for Baltimore.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

The Redskins weren’t big-time players in free agency last offseason -- though they did make a pretty big-time trade for Donovan McNabb, which didn’t exactly, um, work out for anybody -- but NFL.com’s Jason LaCanfora writes that the previous attitude will change once the lockout ends.

Apparently, the primary objective for coach Mike Shanahan is to sign wide receiver Santonio Holmes, though you can be sure the Jets will put up a fight for him, while players like Ravens G Marshall Yanda, Packers DL Cullen Jenkins and Jets DL Kris Jenkins also are wanted by the Redskins.

LaCanfora writes that the team very well could land the Jenkins brothers, because neither will be as in demand as Holmes and Yanda.

If the Redskins were to sign Holmes, there’s a decent chance that WR Santana Moss -- who’s been in Washington for the past six seasons -- would not return (though he has stated that he wants to stay with the Redskins).

Not surprisingly, the team doesn’t plan to keep McNabb or DL/troublemaker Albert Haynesworth. Washington most likely will release McNabb once the lockout is over. But the Redskins still will want to find somebody who will take Haynesworth in a trade, in part because they don’t want Haynesworth to get his way and in part because they want to control where Haynesworth plays next year (ie. not anywhere in the NFC East).

But as LaCanfora writes, this will be a big offseason for Shanahan, because he “already has fallen under scrutiny following clashes with top players and acute struggles on both offense and defense during his first season in Washington.”

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Michael Oher has one heck of a story of how he got to where he is today. But now that he’s there, how good a left tackle can he be? And, more urgently, will the Ravens give him a chance to find the answer?

You’ll recall that, after a strong rookie year, Oher moved to the left tackle spot, and when Baltimore’s Jared Gaither, who was moved to right tackle, couldn’t take the field because of a bad back, Oher’s new position became permanent. That prompted the coaching staff to shift Marshal Yanda from right guard to right tackle, and the team inserted Chris Chester into the right guard spot.

But after an inconsistent performance by the offensive line this year, the Ravens fired OL coach John Matsko following their playoff loss to the Steelers.

Oher was good at times and bad at others this season. He had a propensity to false-start, and when matched up against speed rushers, he struggled.

So, what to do about Oher? Well, if Baltimore brings back Gaither, which is no sure thing, Oher could shift back to right tackle and move Yanda back to right guard. That’s where coach John Harbaugh would rather have Yanda play anyway, because, in Harbaugh’s eyes, he’s a dominant puller.

There’s also this question: is Oher even suited to play tackle in the NFL?

“Oh yeah, he can do it,” Harbaugh told the National Football Post. “I think Michael Oher can play either tackle. What side Mike winds up playing depends on who else is in the mix. I think he had a very good second year. I think the sky’s the limit for Michael.”

For now, that sky includes the left side of the line. Unless the Ravens can find somebody better to fill that role, Oher will continue to protect the blind side.*

*Ugh, I hate myself for doing that. Please don’t judge.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed .

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Names of people who are ACTIVE include Todd Heap and Lardarius Webb.

Keith Rivers, LB, Bengals: He's been bothered by a bad foot, and that's bad news for the Bengals defense. Rivers might be the best LB on the roster, and Cincinnati's run defense will suffer from his absence. Brandon Johnson will take his place.

Jake Delhomme, QB, Browns: This is no surprise. He was doubtful coming into the weekend with an ankle injury, and now, it's official. Seneca Wallace, who doesn't have the throwing potential of Delhomme but has good scrambling ability, will get the start.

Jon McGraw, FS, Chiefs: He was expected to start - especially after being in the lineup in Week 1 - but instead, Kansas City's coaches are going with the youth movement. The Chiefs will start fifth-round pick Kendrick Lewis, who's exceeded expectations in his first season, and together with Eric Berry, that's a very young safeties corps.

William Hayes, DL, Titans: After missing the season-opener last week, it was thought Hayes possibly could play today. Hayes, in fact, said this week that if he was needed, he definitely could go against Pittsburgh. Ultimately, a lack of conditioning might have been the reason he's not playing.

Casey Hampton, NT, Steelers: With Titans RB Chris Johnson coming to town, this isn't great news for Pittsburgh, even though everybody knew this was going to happen. Chris Hoke likely will take his place.

Jared Gaither, OT, Ravens: The right side of Baltimore's offensive line still remains in limbo, because Gaither still hasn't recovered from his back injury. He says he's doing well and recovering, but that hasn't translated into anything on the field. Marshal Yanda gets the start in his place.

Ikaika Alama-Francis, LB, Dolphins: He missed last week with an illness, and he was scratched about 90 minutes before Miami's win at Buffalo. Apparently, he's still sick, and apparently, Koa Misi, who had a good game last week, has passed him on the depth chart.

Paul Posluszny , LB, Bills: We knew this already. Posluszny is out a couple weeks with a knee injury. But it's worth noting that perhaps the happiest player about this news is Green Bay TE Jermichael Finley. He might be in for a big day.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed .