Derrick Mason in just a little over a season has become a vocal leader for the Ravens offense. He has been a staunch public supporter of Kyle Boller and he is a natural target for information on Steve McNair given his well developed rapport and friendship with the former Titan.
On Tuesday when he stepped up to the microphone, that rapport and friendship were put to task once again…
You’ve been supportive of Kyle but are you one of the players lobbying for the arrival of Steve McNair?
I want to state something right now. Kyle is my quarterback right now and whatever happens in the future [well] I’m not in control of that. That is up to upper management to make that decision. But right now Kyle is my quarterback and I have a lot of faith that Kyle can get the job done.
Whether he comes here or not, what do you think Steve [McNair] has left?
I think that he has a lot left in him. The guy had a great season last year from a guy that is looking inside out. A couple of games he did a great job and looked like the Steve of old. I didn’t see that he had any major injuries last year so I figure that he’s got two, three, four years left in him if he doesn’t take the shots that he did in previous years. But whether he’s here or not like I said, that’s up to upper management to make that decision. And Kyle is my quarterback and we’re going to ride with Kyle as long as we can.
How much do you and Steve talk?
Of course we’ve got a good relationship. We played together for eight years – I’ve talked to him off and on but I’m not trying to lobby for him to get here.
Considering that [McNair] is your friend, if he’s thinking about coming here he has got to ask you about what it’s like to play for the Ravens…
I’m pretty sure that he’s heard from other players what it’s like to play here. My main concern with Steve is how they are treating him out there. I played with him for 8 years and for him to be treated the way he’s been treated I think is wrong. I was more concerned about that regardless of where he goes. If he’s a good friend of mine then that’s my concern just like a couple of other guys there that are friends of mine and still are. They are being treated wrong and you want to call and see what’s going on. But there’s no way that I’ve been trying to lobby for Steve to come here. He’s heard enough from enough people what type of organization this is. He knows first hand because he played against this organization for a long time. He knows what type of team this is and that is a decision he’s going to have to make when it comes to it when they choose to let him go in July or if something else happens.
Do you see the Titans as an organization that would stall McNair’s arrival in Baltimore?
(chuckles) You know what, I don’t want to say anything bad about that place because I had 8 great years there. I have fond memories of that city, of that team…Fisher is a great coach so you don’t want to say anything bad about them. On the other hand you look at a guy like Steve and the situation that he’s in and you wonder why they are treating him that way. I’m hoping they can get that resolved. If he’s there, great to him…I wish him all the best. If he’s here or somewhere else I still wish him the best.
Even considering your rapport with Kyle, can you get excited by the prospects of having a guy like Steve here?
Until it’s all concrete and he’s here, we’ll go with it from there. Right now my excitement is for Kyle and what Kyle has shown towards the end of the season last year and what he’s put into the offseason and what he’s done the couple of weeks we’ve been here at training camp. My excitement is towards Kyle and the things that I know he can do as a quarterback.
How has the competition been with the young DB’s out there?
It’s been good. I’ve been yapping and jaw jabbing with them a little bit. Samari and Chris aren’t out there right now but those young guys are competing and they are getting better. The competition is fierce.
Are you enjoying giving them some welcome to the NFL moments?
Yeah! I find myself talking a little bit more than I did last year. I guess that comes with age.
