Ravens sign Matt Birk, reach agreement with Ray Lewis (1 Viewer)

[The_Man]

Lewis to stay in Baltimore

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/footbal...0,5069312.story

Also, ESPN and NFLN report that Matt Birk has signed with the Ravens.

Not a bad stop-gap replacement for Jason Brown.

 

[Christo]

Birk in building, still not a Raven

Free-agent center Matt Birk returned to Ravens headquarters today around 2 p.m. after the team's medical evaluation.

It is believed that Birk will make a decision on whether to sign with the Ravens or the Minnesota Vikings today or tomorrow.

Some league insiders think it will be hard for the Ravens to pry Birk away from Minnesota. Birk, a native of St. Paul, Minn., has spent his entire 11-year career with the Vikings.

Birk spent three hours at Ravens headquarters yesterday and had dinner with coach John Harbaugh.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/rav...ot_a_raven.html

 

[The_Man]

Birk in building, still not a Raven

Free-agent center Matt Birk returned to Ravens headquarters today around 2 p.m. after the team's medical evaluation.

It is believed that Birk will make a decision on whether to sign with the Ravens or the Minnesota Vikings today or tomorrow.

Some league insiders think it will be hard for the Ravens to pry Birk away from Minnesota. Birk, a native of St. Paul, Minn., has spent his entire 11-year career with the Vikings.

Birk spent three hours at Ravens headquarters yesterday and had dinner with coach John Harbaugh.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/rav...ot_a_raven.html

Updated: March 4, 2009, 5:02 PM ETSources: Ravens lure Birk from Vikings

After 11 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, and six Pro Bowl appearances, free agent center Matt Birk is leaving the team.

Birk agreed to a contract with the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday afternoon. He will replace center Jason Brown, who this week signed a five-year $37.5 million contract with the St. Louis Rams. Birk will provide stability to the Baltimore blocking unit.

The four-year contract is worth $12 million, sources told ESPN.com. Six million dollars of the total is guaranteed money, and Birk will receive $9 million in the first two years of the deal. The contract is believed to be similar to the one offered by the Vikings.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3952875

 

[brutha]

this is unpossible, all of lewis' close friends said "no way" would he re-sign.

 

[roadkill1292]

Birk is an excellent signing and will most definitely help to shore up the Oline in the wake of losing Jason Brown.

Ray signed the most lucrative contract ever given a defensive player (at the time) five or six years ago but ignored the advice of his agent, who recommended that he sign for a shorter term, fearing exactly what has happened. His skills are obviously on the decline and now nobody else is willing to sign him for the type of money he feels he deserves. Still, I'm glad to have him back as he's still a quality producer on a quality defense.