Ravens DE Canty not ready to relinquish starting role

Chris Canty is the only Ravens defensive lineman over 26 years of age, but he's not ready to let one of the team's young bucks take his job.

At 32, Canty considered retirement this offseason after he was released by Baltimore to save salary cap space. But a new two-year deal from Ozzie Newsome convinced the 10-year veteran from calling it a career.

With Brent Urban, 24, and Kapron Lewis-Moore, 25, looking for their first NFL action after suffering season-ending injuries last summer, they're going to have to produce right away if they want any shot of getting Canty off the field.

"I’ve been a starter in this league for a decade. I don't really see that changing,” Canty said at last week’s minicamp via the team's official website. "That’s being consistent, playing that position on the defensive front. That’s what I foresee."

Canty registered 33 tackles and a half-sack in 11 games as a starter last season. A staph infection in his wrist kept him out of four games midseason.

A member of the Super Bowl champion Giants in 2011, Canty is looking for one more ring before riding off into the sunset. 

"This team has been close in the past in terms of competing for a championship, and so I definitely feel like we’re in position to be able to put in that kind of work and give ourselves an opportunity," Canty said. "I think that if this team continues to work the way we’ve been working, continues to figure things out and put it together, we’ll have an opportunity to do that."

h/t: Baltimore Ravens