This would be after the Ravens deadline to apply the franchise tag, correct?

Thanks,
CB

why don't they just offer him 35-40 million all guaranteed over three years and get this over with

They cannot offer him 30 to 40 million over the next three years. There is no way he is worth that kind of money. I am a die hard Ravens fan but Ray Lewis is getting older and has lost a step or two... particularly in pass coverage. His body is getting older and yes, he may be worth $10 million this year... but two years down the road? I do not think so. There are other ways to spend $15 million a year in 2012 than on an old Ray Lewis. They should offer him around $17 or $18 million over two years. The Ravens are already strapped by the salary cap and NEED to resign Brown and Suggs, along with Lewis if we want to make another run next year.

To answer the previous 2 posts:
A. They won't franchise an old player, rather saving it for a younger player with huge promise plus they said they would not franchise him anyway.
B. They will not open the vault for 35-40 million and cripple the program for a guy who is the heart and soul of this team but is no where near being the player he once was.

There has to be a happy medium. Ray also has to swallow some pride as well. This situation where a star has moved on to a different team in his twilight years hasn't played out to well either. Look at Brett Favre, what did he do for himself by playing another year??? I hate to see over the hill players with great legacies tarnish it.

2010 is an uncapped year correct? Why can't we overpay him for that season? Do a three year contract for 25 million and make 20 milllion of that go towards the 2010 season. Is that possible?

Alex, who is Brown?

The NFL is going to have more and more of these Ray Lewis, Brett Farve situations...

They must have a clause for one player per team that will allow them to keep a player that has been with the same team for 8-10 years or longer. The team would take a cap hit of only 50% for this one exemption. Therefore the player is happy, the team is happy and it's good for the NFL.

It's a no brainer... for newer teams like Browns they caould apply it to a 5 year veteran at a lower cap number, maybe 25%.

This is the answer. so simple!!

Make a fair and reasonable offer. It would be nice to see him finish his career in Baltimore.You can not give the
bank away to keep him. There are other priorities that deserve attention.Let's not mortgage the future.

Chris McAlister is making close to 10 million this up coming season. He is overrated and not the defensive Qb that Ray Lewis is. Now is the time to start cutting the old and over paid so young players can still learn from Ray like Ed Reed did when he first came in the league. We do need help at Corner but we can do that for half the price in free agency or at the draft. Ray has lost a step but he would be the glue that keeps this defense in place without Rex Ryan. " Pay that man his money"

I love Ray and was the one telling everyone how great a draft pick he was when he got drafted. I'm a huge Hurricane fan and watched him closely. That being said, he needs to go if he is going to try and be a 34 year old linebacker holding this franchise hostage. If he wants to be in that disfunctional locker room in Dallas let him go. We might lose lots of leadership but we can pay Bart Scott a fraction of what we can pay Ray. He's a bit younger. I know it's a lot of posturing on his part but this city has treated him like a king and so has this organization. Probably giving him to much of a voice. The choice is easy for him. Retire a Raven and not go out like Favre. He needs to show this city some loyalty the same way we have been loyal to him all these years. Oh, and franchise Jason Brown. Centers don't get paid a whole lot.

Everyone needs to relax. According to numbers I saw today on Profootballtalk.com, the Ravens are 20 million under the cap. By cutting McAlister I believe they get another 8 million. This puts them with almost 30 million in cap room, plenty of money to retain Suggs, Ray, Brown and even Soctt (if they want to) and Leonard while adding some free agents. The problem now is neither side has a benchmark for his value. So the Ravens will let him put his foot into the free agent pool and see what he can get. I would be surprised if a deal was done before the start of free agency. And after it is all done, Ray will say "I was never going to leave Baltimore. I just needed to make sure I was not leaving money on the table with some other team."

NN, Jason Brown is one of the best young centers in the NFL. It is paramount that we keep him in order to establish continuity on the line.

With the Ravens parting way with Boller, they need to dump McAllister, Rolle, Heap and either restructure Magahee or dump him too. That would provide plenty of cap room for younger CBS who can cover 33 year old WRs in a playoff game. Anyone who is going give man love to Heap needs to realize he had more drops this year than a sequel to caddyshack. Say what you want about Ray being old, he is still the best Defensive player on the team. Suggs has more 15 yard PF's than sacks. He offsets his value with his temper. And Magahee is more run down than City Transit Bus. NO more halfbacks from big time programs that already had 3 reconstructive knee sugreries by age of 25!! Get younger in the skill positions and we can finally beat Pitt!!

I am tired of hearing about how much this team is going to miss Rex Ryan. Ryan has only been the defenseive coordinator the last four years. If memory serves me correctly, we had Marvin Lewis, who many credit as the brains behind the Super Bowl year, and an offensive coordinator turned defensive coordinator, Mike Nolan, and this defense has never missed a beat. Rex is a "Bubba" who will flop in NY.

Brown is Jason Brown... our center....

Mike if we let heap go who do you want as a TE then?? Stop being dumb teap is nice and we could keep rolle but c-mac gotta go and ray lewis has to go to if he wants money let him go!! Cause think we let bart scott go and keep ray lewis 2 years later ray is going to retire and then what we lost ray lewis and bart scott..Ray lewis is going to leave sooner or later so let him go now..

frox,

Bingo!

I for one hope the Ravens don't break the bank to keep Ray Lewis in the fold.

Terrell Suggs, Jason Brown, and next year Haloti Ngata are much more critical pieces to the Ravens immediate and future success than Ray Lewis.

Many teams have let their beloved players go to free agency and kept on ticking. As much as it pains me to say, the Steelers are the model franchise to emulate when it comes to releasing older players at the right time. They prove it year in and year out without skipping a beat.

Even if Ray Lewis becomes the missing piece to another team like Shannon Sharpe and Rod Woodson were to the Ravens during the SB run in 2000, he'll always be a Raven no matter what. He will never mean more to a city than what he means to Baltimore.

I wish him the best no matter what team he chooses to play for next season.

mya opinion... Your idea is one of the best i've heard in this long list of opinions. Looking at this situation like a business owner, you keep the producers and part ways with the non-producers.

I personally like Bart Scott, but we have a VERY good crop of young linebackers behind him like Jameel McClain and Antwan Barnes.

Our only problem has been "nailing it" at the WR position. Man, if we can get "that go-to guy" for #5, the Ravens will be a contender year after year.

About Ray, I say "Sign him!", but.....
IN OZ I TRUST!

I agree about Magahee and McAllister. They need to be let go and replaced. I am not sure about Heap. He had a bad year this year for sure but he has bounced back from bad years before (mainly when injured). I think they should look at him in training regardless and possibly bring in a new large TE with good hands. A Young One would be Ideal if he turns out good and Heap could teach him a lot.

Mike must not pay too much attention to the articles posted here. Todd Heap's salary cap number for next year is surprisingly low (I believe around one million) and the Ravens get practically no cap relief by cutting McGahee versus keeping him. I think an earlier poster brought up a very interesting point that I've been confused about....whats preventing us (or any team) from giving players a lower salary this year and then paying them the bulk of their contract during the uncapped 2010?

Ozzie and Ray's agent will survey the market and see what other teams are likely to sign Ray at what cost and for how long, and how they would likely structure his contract. They are professionals, and will do their homework. For us to speculate is an entertaining, but somewhat pointless endeavor.

Why are the Jets rumored to be interested in Ray Lewis? They are in salary cap hell, they have no QB, and they already have an aging overpaid roster of has and might-have-beens. I'm frankly confused as to why they are even mentioned to be in the running. Is Ray perpetuating this rumor to increase his perceived value?

Compensation picks! Compensation Picks!

When we lost adalius thomas i believe we got a third round pick. It might be smart to sign some of these linebackers to the "transition" tag or the "franchise" tag...make some other organization overpay.

I'm resigned to losing one great player - Jim Leonhard to the jets. I say great, because he is YOUNG.

I go after Jason Brown first and foremost. He could anchor that line for the next decade. We have plento of linebackers with Prescott Burgess, Antawn Barnes, Jameel Mcclain, Edgar Jones, and Jarrett JOhnson could step up as the veteran in the group.

Terrell Suggs: I gotta bad feeling that he'll want too much money just like last year. Whoever signs first between Demarcus Ware, Albert HAynesworth, and suggs is gonna drive the market up.

One more thing: Clay Matthews, Jr is slated to go near the end of round one - didn't ozzie play with his dad in cleveland?

To all you guys saying Ray has lost a step or two - who cares??? He's still the best ILB in the game - wasn't he just the starter in the Pro Bowl and the leading tackler on the league's #2 defense? He's still the best in the game, and IMHO has 3 years left if he stays healthy. His intensity and leadership are probably more important than his stats even though they are great too. NOBODY in the league plays harder than this guy and he expects the same from every one of his teammates. If we have Ray Ray for 3 more years, the Lombardi trophy will return to Baltimore before he retires.

So Long Ray. Thanks for the memories.

the only thing that worries me about an uncapped 2010 year, is teams like the Cowboys who may outbid Bisciotti bec. they just have more money. I agree, pay Ray a lower number, around 5-6 mill next year, and then give him the house with no cap next year. Will Jerry Jones spend more then Bisciotti in 2010?

Jerry Jones has to worry about re-signing DeMarcus Ware and paying him. So there might not be enough $$ left to throw at Ray. And I understand Dallas has less room under the cap than the Ravens.

I agree with Frox. The Ravens do have some CAP Space to possibly sign Lewis, Suggs, Scott, Brown, and Leonard. However, to help the situation, some other veterans such as Mason, Rolle, McAllister, and Anderson should be asked to re-structure their salary and maybe make up some of the differences with incentives. Also, the Ravens need make a move to get these unrestricted free agents signed quickly before free agency starts. Lewis, Scott, Suggs, Brown, and Leornard all had a great year and will probably be offered huge salaries by other teams if they go on the free agent market.

Sign Brown, Suggs, Scott and Leonard. let Ray walk. I will still be proud to wear my #52 jersey on game day and will look forward to the day Ray enters the ring of honor. Drop our old CBs and maybe even Heap. We have the mighty Quinn returning next year. Need Leonard in case Landry is not ready to come back. Also Brandon Pettigrew OSU TE or Darrius Heyward-Bey Terp WR might be available at pick 26. There are a couple of free agent DB available. Hell, Give DeAngelo Hall one more shot. What about TJ or Boldin. It is time to start building a high powered offense while we still have Cam Cameron.

BIG Corners to match up against the Randy Moss'/ T O /Andre johnson /Plaxico /Ramses Bardin /Javon Walker/ Brandon Marshall /Jason Witten/Jeremy Schockey/Antonio Gates/Marcus Colston/Dwayne Bowe/Vincent Jackson /Chris Chambers/Bernard Berrian/Limas Sweed/ type receivers,.....fast corners to match up against the rabbit catcher [Santonio Holmes] Braylon Edwards and Chad Hollywood Ocho cinco .....Coye Francies or Domonique 4.3 40 johnson......taller and faster.....Alphonso Smith is really good but does not have compareable size to not be a nat on a giraffe's neck.....Dj Moore is athletic but not quite as tall as Francies or Johnson. Pettigrew , Heyward bey and Brit are good options... but I have a feeling Hakeem Nicks will be the best all around receiver to come out this year...Scott,Barnes,Mclean, Gooden and Edgar Jones provide adequate depth to not take a big hit at linebacker if Ray gets paid.....the question is what will the defensive IQ and intensity be like without him...that is the journey into the unknown for the Ravens....has he been enough of an influence on Scott, Suggs and Reed for them to replace him as the defensive catalyst.....the addition of a high football IQ guy like Leonard helps with the transition if it happens......Fabian Washington is fast but cant Catch or Tackle.='s liability..Frank Walker and Anwar Phillips are solid backups.,,,Mcalister and Rolle are 2 years beyond their expiration date's....you screwed up last year passing on Mckelvin and Cromartie for Joe pepsi staredown over and under throw.... Leodis Mckelvin or Rodgers Cromarie would'nt have fallen down and allowed Holmes to run 60 yards into the endzone like Washington did....and any quarterback in the league would have had a quarterback rating better than 18.2 in the AFC championship game.....Flacco = pure Liability minus the hype...dont screw up again Newsome.

Why don't Ravens hire Ray as a player coach, he already is a coach on the field ? That way they can justify paying big bucks.

wow rob, you know every wr in the league!! not impressed. and your comment about the ravens screwing up with the flacco pick, you are dead wrong amigo. flacco was a very good pick. big bens first trip to the sb was nothing to write hime about. steelers won because of their defense.

I say don't worry about ray go after julius peppers he wants out of carolina, then resign Scott and suggs and throw some of the young guns in and draft a corner and a td/wr ok coffman from missu they guys a beast or maclin or britt from rutgers