Legendary Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Marshal Yanda came oh so close to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, but ultimately fell just short.
At Thursday night’s NFL honors, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its full Class of 2025, which is the smallest in 20 years with just four inductees. Unfortunately, Yanda, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade team, was not among the four selected.
Yanda’s snub stands out among the most notable from this year, especially to his former teammates. During an appearance on Thursday’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” which aired before the full class was unveiled, former Ravens lineman A.Q. Shipley said it would be a “travesty” if Yanda was not a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“He’s probably the best interior lineman of this era, of this decade,” Shipley said. “He was unbelievable, he was a great help to me. One of the things that I loved about him was that was the one year that I played offensive guard, so when I moved there it was a transition for me, and he was the king of telling [former Ravens center] Gino Gradkowski just, ‘If A.Q. needs you, go to that side, I’ve got this.’
“It should be an absolute no-brainer and if he doesn’t it’s a travesty.”
Shipley, who played eight NFL seasons, spent just one year with the Ravens in 2013. In that one year, though, it’s clear to see Yanda made a huge impact on him.
Of course, Yanda was far from the only snub in this year’s Hall of Fame class. Fellow Ravens icon Terrell Suggs also fell short in his first year of eligibility, despite ranking eighth all-time with 139 sacks. Outside of Ravens players, other notable exclusions include quarterback Eli Manning, linebacker Luke Kuechly, kicker Adam Vinatieri and more.
In all likelihood, Yanda, and most/all of the aforementioned players, will make it to Canton someday, but they’ll have to wait a little bit longer to get there.