Right Off Russell

Have the Ravens taken off the Ray Lewis beer-goggles and plan to making a concerted effort at signing the right player to the Ravens at Inside Linebacker instead of just paying for a meaningful symbol of the franchise, but one who’s best days are likely behind him when compared to the money he thinks he’s worth?

… Bart Scott and the Ravens are moving closer to possibly getting a deal done before the midnight deadline Friday for free agency … Scott is younger and runs better than Lewis. In the scheme a year ago, Scott was asked to do more than Lewis … [who] apparently irritated owner Steve Bisciotti recently with his comments at the Pro Bowl about possibly playing for the New York Jets or Dallas Cowboys. Bisciotti and Lewis are friends, and Bisciotti even fired head coach Brian Billick partially because Lewis failed to support Billick … Bisciotti was disappointed that Lewis didn’t show loyalty to the franchise at the Pro Bowl.

Instead, his mouth got him some unwanted attention in the Charm City by professing his love … whether real or just in good fun … to DeMarcus Ware to relay to King Botox himself in Dallas. 

In theory, there should be no sacred cows in football, but in practice it takes strong management to say no to a player who has a whole mythos built around him like Lewis does.  This might be the hardest decision that Bisciotti and GM Ozzie Newsome will have to make for this organization and how they perceive this team in the future.  So far, they’ve made some good personnel decisions, but it’s hard to say how this will play out yet.

See stetsports.com for some similar conclusions on the subject.