Ravens Shopping Ray Lewis (1 Viewer)

[diesel7982]

You dont think he would be a great fit in Indy.

I dont know about the cap , but he could give them something they dont have

( Character and Leadership ) Manning- Harrison are no leaders, maybe James but even him i dont think he is such a leader.

There arent words to describe...

 

[Donnybrook]

My bet is on Minnesota as the destination for Ray Lewis. Minnesota has the salary cap room and their LB corps could use some improvement. Please tell me who is the leader for that overrated Vikings defense??? Ray could fulfill the leadership role as well.

That was my first thought as well since Sam Cowart is a free agent. However, if Ray is not happy with his contract in Baltimore, why would he be happy with the same contract in Minnesota? I hope Minnesota saves the money and drafts a middle LB instead.

BTW, I think Derrick Brooks is the highest paid LB in the league and I won't be surprised if he is gone if he refuses to redo his contract. Then again, he may choose to retire as a Buc.

 

[ren hoek]

I bet Marvin Lewis is foaming at the mouth.

I do honestly think the Bengals need to move to the 3-4. Add Ray to Odell, Pollack and Simmons. Then draft a huge DT and there we go!

If only I owned the Bengals.

Hi, SF&SC. Unless Haloti Ngata takes a fall in the draft of Wilforkian proportions or we trade up to take him, there's no chance in hell that we'll have a shot at landing a big-time DT for that type of defense, through either free agency or the draft.We don't have any coaches on hand that are accustomed to a 3-4 defense either. It seems like Bresnahan's been a 4-3 guy since Oakland at least, and our defensive ends as it stands right now would get raped if we started running a 3-4. And if we do switch to 3-4, what do we do with our two scrubbish DTs, Thornton and Robinson, who are too small to play NT and too slow to play DE? There's like $5 mil tied up in those two players I believe, which would be going to waste if we switched to a 3-4. We just don't have the personnel for that right now, and the players we do have would be better off just becoming more comfortable with the 4-3 that we run now. Bresnahan could probably run a solid vanilla 3-4, but there's no way he could hang with guys like LeBeau or Belichick in coaching it up to play at a high level.

I think what we need to do with our spot at #24 is take Darnell Bing. He looks like he'd be a great fit as another all-purpose S to team with Madieu Williams, and he'd be an immense improvement over Kevin Kaesviharn (assuming of course that we don't have a shot at Ngata at that spot, which we don't). Then in the 2nd round, with what would ideally be about the 40th overall pick, we might have a chance to take Brodrick Bunkley, DT, out of Florida State. He's only 284 lbs. per his scouting report, so teams will probably overlook him in the first round and we may have a shot in the 2nd to pick him up. He could at the very least serve as a cheaper replacement for Robinson or Thornton, who are both garbage. Of course, I'd blow a load if by some act of God we got to draft Vernon Davis.

But anyways, getting back on topic, screw some Ray Lewis. On top of the fact that our cap situation likely won't be friendly enough to accomodate him, I've made way too many murderer comments/jokes to have him on my team at this stage, and he's clearly on the downside of his career right now.

 

[pizzatyme]

I wouldn't mind seeing Ray-Ray in a Colts uni. At the minimum, he would bring a tough edge to the defense. I wouldn't mind seeing him toughen up our team.The Colts lack a leader on defense. Ray Lewis is a leader. Gary Brackett was playing over his head in the middle for the Colts this season. He would be a great passing situation sub for Ray.This would only be possible IF Ray didn't come with a high price tag.I really can't see Ray wanting to go to a place like Minny. No offense, but they are a ways off from a Superbowl opportunity.

 

[NFZ]

I hope the Eagles trade TO for him. That would be some sweet justice.

 

[Bri]

The loss in NFL salary would be made up in new endorsement deals. The idea of a Baltimore legend coming to rescue the former Baltimore Colts appeals to me......which is why it won't happen.

Interesting but I don't know if the big name companies will endorse him, and that's where the real money is. I can't imagine Disney endorsing him, for example.

 

[JaxBill]

Mike Peterson has done a great job at MLB for the Jags . Would the Jags really move him back out to WLB so Lewis could play MLB?

 

[SoFresh&SoClean]

I bet Marvin Lewis is foaming at the mouth. 

I do honestly think the Bengals need to move to the 3-4.  Add Ray to Odell, Pollack and Simmons.  Then draft a huge DT and there we go!

If only I owned the Bengals.

Hi, SF&SC. Unless Haloti Ngata takes a fall in the draft of Wilforkian proportions or we trade up to take him, there's no chance in hell that we'll have a shot at landing a big-time DT for that type of defense, through either free agency or the draft.We don't have any coaches on hand that are accustomed to a 3-4 defense either. It seems like Bresnahan's been a 4-3 guy since Oakland at least, and our defensive ends as it stands right now would get raped if we started running a 3-4. And if we do switch to 3-4, what do we do with our two scrubbish DTs, Thornton and Robinson, who are too small to play NT and too slow to play DE? There's like $5 mil tied up in those two players I believe, which would be going to waste if we switched to a 3-4. We just don't have the personnel for that right now, and the players we do have would be better off just becoming more comfortable with the 4-3 that we run now. Bresnahan could probably run a solid vanilla 3-4, but there's no way he could hang with guys like LeBeau or Belichick in coaching it up to play at a high level.

I think what we need to do with our spot at #24 is take Darnell Bing. He looks like he'd be a great fit as another all-purpose S to team with Madieu Williams, and he'd be an immense improvement over Kevin Kaesviharn (assuming of course that we don't have a shot at Ngata at that spot, which we don't). Then in the 2nd round, with what would ideally be about the 40th overall pick, we might have a chance to take Brodrick Bunkley, DT, out of Florida State. He's only 284 lbs. per his scouting report, so teams will probably overlook him in the first round and we may have a shot in the 2nd to pick him up. He could at the very least serve as a cheaper replacement for Robinson or Thornton, who are both garbage. Of course, I'd blow a load if by some act of God we got to draft Vernon Davis.

But anyways, getting back on topic, screw some Ray Lewis. On top of the fact that our cap situation likely won't be friendly enough to accomodate him, I've made way too many murderer comments/jokes to have him on my team at this stage, and he's clearly on the downside of his career right now.

Oh, I agree. I was just wishfully dreaming. I like your outlook, seems pretty accurate with what I was thinking.

 

[John 14:6]

**Waiting for Culpepper rumors**

I'm a Viking fan and a Gary Brackett owner and would really like to see Ray come to Minnesota

 

[The_Man]

Here's the real issue that is only being whispered about in Baltimore -- Ray just signed a check for somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million for the families involved in the Atlanta stabbling.He is hurting for cash. As has been reported in the past, he wants (and now needs) a giant signing bonus because he is broke. But the Ravens already gave him that huge bonus a few years ago and are now only paying him the enormous base salaries that contract calls for in its later years because of what he has meant to the team.If the Ravens are unwilling to pay him another huge signing bonus and are hesitant to give him the high annual salaries he's now playing for, why would any other team in the NFL do those things? Ray's only hope for getting a lot of cash now will be to restructure his existing deal into a signing bonus with minimum annual salaries moving forward, but neither side seems in a hurry to do that.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

Mr. Newsome? Mr. Acorsi is on the phone for you...

 

[nygiants56]

Anyone else think that the Chargers would be a nice fit for Ray Lewis? cap space, up and coming defensive team, in need of veteran leadership?

I'll take him for NYGiants in a heartbeat!

 

[Marvelous]

Here's the real issue that is only being whispered about in Baltimore -- Ray just signed a check for somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million for the families involved in the Atlanta stabbling.

He is hurting for cash. As has been reported in the past, he wants (and now needs) a giant signing bonus because he is broke. But the Ravens already gave him that huge bonus a few years ago and are now only paying him the enormous base salaries that contract calls for in its later years because of what he has meant to the team.

If the Ravens are unwilling to pay him another huge signing bonus and are hesitant to give him the high annual salaries he's now playing for, why would any other team in the NFL do those things? Ray's only hope for getting a lot of cash now will be to restructure his existing deal into a signing bonus with minimum annual salaries moving forward, but neither side seems in a hurry to do that.

Ray Lewis earned $5.5 M in 2005, and is scheduled to make $5.5 M in 2006. If his bank account is down to $0, I think he should be able to survive on $5.5 M for the next year. If he went into major debt, then I can see he has a cash flow problem.

 

[Weapon of Mass Instruction]

Here's the real issue that is only being whispered about in Baltimore -- Ray just signed a check for somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million for the families involved in the Atlanta stabbling.

He is hurting for cash. As has been reported in the past, he wants (and now needs) a giant signing bonus because he is broke.

 

[roadkill1292]

Here's the real issue that is only being whispered about in Baltimore -- Ray just signed a check for somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million for the families involved in the Atlanta stabbling.

He is hurting for cash. As has been reported in the past, he wants (and now needs) a giant signing bonus because he is broke. But the Ravens already gave him that huge bonus a few years ago and are now only paying him the enormous base salaries that contract calls for in its later years because of what he has meant to the team.

If the Ravens are unwilling to pay him another huge signing bonus and are hesitant to give him the high annual salaries he's now playing for, why would any other team in the NFL do those things? Ray's only hope for getting a lot of cash now will be to restructure his existing deal into a signing bonus with minimum annual salaries moving forward, but neither side seems in a hurry to do that.

If true, this is very interesting information and would explain much. How solid are your sources?

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

Weird that he would pay 20 million when he did no wrong.

 

[Wadsworth]

Mike Peterson has done a great job at MLB for the Jags . Would the Jags really move him back out to WLB so Lewis could play MLB?

I doubt it. There is the history with Ray and JDR but at this point it doesn't seem like a good fit for the Jaguars. It's easy to ask who could run up the middle on Stroud/Henderson/Lewis? But is it the same Ray Lewis and is it worth trading a player or pick and paying him 5.5-6.5 million to find out?

 

[Warpig]

No surprise to me.

A good friend of mine works with Rays cousin. About a month ago he told my buddy that Ray wants to be traded to Dallas or Jacksonville during the offseason. At the time he was leaning towards Jax because of the then-uncertainty of Parcells returning in Dallas. But now that he IS returning, Im betting that both teams will be in the running.

You heard it here first.

J-ville has a stud MLB in Mike Peterson. Ayodele may be on the block. If Ray or Mike would be willing to move to OLB then that would be a scary LB crew!

 

[Sopranos]

I wouldn't mind seeing Ray-Ray in a Colts uni. At the minimum, he would bring a tough edge to the defense. I wouldn't mind seeing him toughen up our team.

The Colts lack a leader on defense. Ray Lewis is a leader. Gary Brackett was playing over his head in the middle for the Colts this season. He would be a great passing situation sub for Ray.

This would only be possible IF Ray didn't come with a high price tag.

I really can't see Ray wanting to go to a place like Minny. No offense, but they are a ways off from a Superbowl opportunity.

Colts need a leader period I want him here in Indy

 

[Wadsworth]

I wouldn't mind seeing Ray-Ray in a Colts uni. At the minimum, he would bring a tough edge to the defense. I wouldn't mind seeing him toughen up our team.

The Colts lack a leader on defense. Ray Lewis is a leader. Gary Brackett was playing over his head in the middle for the Colts this season. He would be a great passing situation sub for Ray.

This would only be possible IF Ray didn't come with a high price tag.

I really can't see Ray wanting to go to a place like Minny. No offense, but they are a ways off from a Superbowl opportunity.

Colts need a leader period I want him here in Indy

As a Jags fan, I'd love him in Indy as well. It would without a doubt sentence the colts to cap neverland in a season or two. Here's a new flash for colts fans, your team is already in cap trouble and signing expensive old free agents is the worse thing you can do.

 

[Sopranos]

I wouldn't mind seeing Ray-Ray in a Colts uni. At the minimum, he would bring a tough edge to the defense. I wouldn't mind seeing him toughen up our team.

The Colts lack a leader on defense. Ray Lewis is a leader. Gary Brackett was playing over his head in the middle for the Colts this season. He would be a great passing situation sub for Ray.

This would only be possible IF Ray didn't come with a high price tag.

I really can't see Ray wanting to go to a place like Minny. No offense, but they are a ways off from a Superbowl opportunity.

Colts need a leader period I want him here in Indy

As a Jags fan, I'd love him in Indy as well. It would without a doubt sentence the colts to cap neverland in a season or two. Here's a new flash for colts fans, your team is already in cap trouble and signing expensive old free agents is the worse thing you can do.

They really are not in that much trouble..You wish they were..Anyway just having Ray on the team would help alot. Even if he never plays. We need a guy to fire up the team in big games. No one else can do it

 

[cstu]

Here's the real issue that is only being whispered about in Baltimore -- Ray just signed a check for somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million for the families involved in the Atlanta stabbling.

He is hurting for cash. As has been reported in the past, he wants (and now needs) a giant signing bonus because he is broke. But the Ravens already gave him that huge bonus a few years ago and are now only paying him the enormous base salaries that contract calls for in its later years because of what he has meant to the team.

If the Ravens are unwilling to pay him another huge signing bonus and are hesitant to give him the high annual salaries he's now playing for, why would any other team in the NFL do those things? Ray's only hope for getting a lot of cash now will be to restructure his existing deal into a signing bonus with minimum annual salaries moving forward, but neither side seems in a hurry to do that.

If true, this is very interesting information and would explain much. How solid are your sources?

I find this hard to believe, why would he pay $20 million when he only pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor? Not only that but he was sued for $10 million, settling out of court with one family for $1 million and an unknown amount with another.Link

 

[The_Man]

The news about Ray's $$ difficulties and their source came on a Saturday Baltimore sports radio talk show featuring the Ravens' PA announcer (also the sports anchor for the local Fox affiliate) and a Ravens beat reporter from one of the suburban papers.After spending the first 15 minutes of the show saying they couldn't talk about the reason Ray was in a financial bind, they then admitted it was because of him paying a settlement to the families involved in Atlanta.It's been weird the way he's been agitating for another big signing bonus over the last couple of years when it was clear at the time of his last deal that he was getting the last huge bonus he was ever likely to see. The Ravens do a good job of taking care of their core players, like Heap last year and like they'll do with Reed this year, and believe me that they thought they had taken care of Ogden and Ray a couple of years ago and have no plans to give him more money at this point.Like I said above, the only reason they're even planning to pay him those extremely high base salaries for 06 and 07 is in recognition of his tenure and contributions to the team. I think this "shopping" business is a message intended for Ray to learn that he won't get a better deal anywhere than the one the Ravens are prepared to honor because they're the only team in the NFL willing to pay him $5.5 M this year for past performance.

 

[roadkill1292]

The news about Ray's $$ difficulties and their source came on a Saturday Baltimore sports radio talk show featuring the Ravens' PA announcer (also the sports anchor for the local Fox affiliate) and a Ravens beat reporter from one of the suburban papers.

After spending the first 15 minutes of the show saying they couldn't talk about the reason Ray was in a financial bind, they then admitted it was because of him paying a settlement to the families involved in Atlanta.

It's been weird the way he's been agitating for another big signing bonus over the last couple of years when it was clear at the time of his last deal that he was getting the last huge bonus he was ever likely to see. The Ravens do a good job of taking care of their core players, like Heap last year and like they'll do with Reed this year, and believe me that they thought they had taken care of Ogden and Ray a couple of years ago and have no plans to give him more money at this point.

Like I said above, the only reason they're even planning to pay him those extremely high base salaries for 06 and 07 is in recognition of his tenure and contributions to the team. I think this "shopping" business is a message intended for Ray to learn that he won't get a better deal anywhere than the one the Ravens are prepared to honor because they're the only team in the NFL willing to pay him $5.5 M this year for past performance.

I just got off the phone with that beat writer's boss, who happens to be in my ff league, and he said that, at this time, they do not have confirmation of this information. He told me that his reporter was only "speculating" but also said that the rumors were being widely circulated among the local media. We may never know for sure since the settlement is not in the public record. A juicy piece of gossip, nonetheless.

 

[fatness]

make no mistake, Ray can stil play--it just won't be here

You may be right. Nothing definite in this article, but it's pretty clear he wants out and he's being shopped around.link to new column by Mike Preston

Associates and friends close to Lewis have said that he doesn't want to play in Baltimore for the 2006 season, but Newsome said the linebacker hasn't informed the team of any such intention.

Newsome, though, did admit that Lewis had a recent meeting with team owner Steve Bisciotti in Florida, and said Lewis asked to be traded before the start of the 2005 season. Lewis, a seven-time Pro Bowl performer, went into a self-imposed isolation from the team last season after the Ravens declined to restructure his contract, which still has three years left.

He no longer wanted to be the face of the team, and it has become clear to everyone, except Newsome, that Lewis wants out. League sources have said the Ravens were sending out "feelers" in a possible trade for Lewis, but they haven't gotten more than a second- round draft pick in exchange (note to Ravens: Take it and run).

A team source said Lewis discussed his contract situation with Bisciotti, among other things.

"I was not informed that the issue of the contract came up as a part of that meeting," Newsome said. "Through the years, a number of players have approached me about being traded. That's not unusual. Ray is under contract, and we gave him that contract to retire as a Raven."

 

[Texasmouth]

No surprise to me.

A good friend of mine works with Rays cousin. About a month ago he told my buddy that Ray wants to be traded to Dallas or Jacksonville during the offseason. At the time he was leaning towards Jax because of the then-uncertainty of Parcells returning in Dallas. But now that he IS returning, Im betting that both teams will be in the running.

You heard it here first.

Why would you need Ray Lewis when you already have Dat Nguyen?

Dat Nyguen was a great football player and played with a ton of heart. Ray Lewis has far more physical skills that Dat but if he had half of Dat's heart he would be 10 times better. You never heard him mentioned in a murder or waving a gun or bad mouthing his team or team mates. He was a professional from the day he arrived. Anyone who is criticisizing Dat is just a tard who knows nothing about football. Dat was injured almost all season. He has stated that he will retire.