I say let him go, keep Anderson, and pick up a new RB in the draft. Lots of teams have had instant success drafting RBs in recent years (Jones-Drew, Bush, Maroney just this year) and RB is usually one of the deepest positions, so you don't have to get a guy in the 1st round to get quality. Jamal's been good, but maybe it's time for a new direction.

This year we’ve seen the slow demise of Jamal Lewis go from a drip to a serious hemorrhage. Gaining 70 yards a game ( even with 20 plus carries) as the premier running back on the team is simply not good enough. He doesn’t hit the holes fast enough, he looks timid and almost afraid sometimes and he looks a lot weaker than in years past. I haven’t seen many defenses wear down in the fourth quarter either.

The career span of an NFL RB on average is 4-5 years so the Ravens are riding Jamal on fumes right now. If Jamal is averaging 70 yards a game this year he’ll average 40-50 next year.

Jamal has been an integral part of this team for many years, but he's at the point now where he's more of a salary cap liability than an offensive attribute to the team. Ozzie Newsome should address the problem in the off-season or else the running game in 2007 will be looking as stagnant and foul as that of the Cleveland Browns’.

Mike,

If the Ravens can't or don't bring Jamal Lewis back, what would you think of Michael Turner as a possible replacement?

re-do Jamal for one year, but get a franchise back to groom to replace him.

Jamal is playing on borrowed time. He got better over last year, but he has no excuses for being the way he is. He's just not the same player and we need a guy to really prepare to carry the Ravens offense when Steve McNair moves on.

I love Jamal and he's been a solid addition to this team BUT as you state, has lost some of his effectiveness and would be very expensive. If the OL is solid and the system is balanced, the running back can be somewhat interchangeable to a point. I hope they reach a renegotiation of the contract and he stays but if not, the team would be hard pressed to do anything but wish him well and move in another direction.

The ravens have several areas to address in this off-season: aging corners, running back and offensive line to name a few. With respect to the running back position, if we do not keep Lewis, do you think we address this in the draft or via trade/free agency. I don't think the Andersen/Smith tandem gets it one.

Jamal is a good man. He took his lumps and has come back from that. He deserves respect. that being said, no, he is'nt what he once was. But........ keep giving him the ball in crunch time and you know what he can do. In the Pittsburgh game last year (the loss) if he does'nt lose the ball while running over the safety he goes 99 yards. C'mon give him his props. He'll grind it out thru the playoffs and give him 1 more year at the right price.

Jamal is probably going to want big dollars, especially if this team makes a deep push into the playoffs. With Adalius Thomas scheduled to hit free agency, the teamsimply can't afford to make Jamal a priority. For the first time since Testaverde-to-Alexander, the team has a solid passing game. Jamal, hate to say it, is expendable. Bring him into the office at Owings Mills, thank him for all he has meant to this franchise, and offer him a one-year, incentive-laden deal.

(Granted, it would be easier to stick to the resolve if Musa Smith could actually stay active for a full year...)

is everyone forgetting how horrible our run blocking is? seriously, how can you put all this on jamal?

I hope JAM retires a Raven
Hes done and has alot of history with the organization...

Mike Anderson was supposed to be the premier running back this year. He gained over 1,000 yards for Denver last year, but we barely feed the guy any reps this year. And when we do, he usually breaks off a 10-20 yard run. Give him Lewis' 20-25 reps and see what he can do. Try to resign Jamal for 1 year and get a good rook, but I think we got Lewis' replacement last year. We just need to pull the trigger.