Ray Lewis a Cowboy?
Is Cal Ripken Jr. leaving retirement to play for the Yankees? Will the Preakness be raced in California? Are Chesapeake Bay crabs relocating to Alaska?
Will greed lure yet another athlete from the town that embraced his entire career just to sign for a few more dollars elsewhere?
This stinks if true.
The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly eyeing Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis when free agency begins Feb. 27. Don’t believe reports of contract offers. That’s called tampering, though in the wink-wink NFL few are found guilty of a comparable speeding violation.
The Cowboys have floated a three-year, $30 million offer with $25 million guaranteed. That’s an enormous sum for someone turning 34-years old on May 15. Lewis comes off one of his better seasons, but 34 is old to pay mega-money to an aging linebacker. However, Dallas owner Jerry Jones opens a billion-dollar stadium in a down economy and believes Lewis would be a big difference in winning games and selling tickets.
Dallas is never short on drama and Lewis would certainly provide it. HBO should spend another training camp filming Terrell Owens versus Lewis in the locker room.
Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti needs to step up big to stop this. The Ravens could franchise the free agent to keep him, but that would cause major bad blood. Better to work a multi-year deal for Lewis to finish his career in peace because the linebacker might be stubborn enough to sit out a season in defiance.
The Ravens are Baltimore’s team nowadays. The Orioles have been forgotten after a decade of mediocrity. To watch Charm City’s icon leave would be akin to Brett Favre forsaking Green Bay to play in New York last season.
It’s a double bridge burner. Fans hate the franchise for losing the player. The player can’t return in retirement, either. Many Packers backers will never forgive Favre for departing, and that’s a real shame for someone who was their franchise’s face for more than a decade.
Baltimore has too much emotionally invested in Lewis to permit his departure. If they must overpay to keep him, then do it. Losing Lewis simply over money is fiscal foolishness. If the owners lock out players in 2011, the Ravens won’t even pay for that year, which would probably signal Lewis’ retirement.
For now, say it ain’t so, Ray. Say it ain’t so.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
