Should We Sign Jamal Lewis Next Year

[ravensfolife]

It was reported jamal lewis plans to retire after the season. My question is do you think we should sign him for one home game next year? For the two year fans out there, the guy was a beast for us and was adrian peterson before we knew ap. Also does he belong in the hall of fame, he started his career great but that prison term killed him imo.

[NeoZer0]

[quote name='ravensfolife' date='01 November 2009 - 08:25 PM' timestamp='1257125116' post='271156']
It was reported jamal lewis plans to retire after the season. My question is do you think we should sign him for one home game next year? For the two year fans out there, the guy was a beast for us and was adrian peterson before we knew ap. Also does he belong in the hall of fame, he started his career great but that prison term killed him imo.
[/quote]

1 day contract. Retire a Raven!

[Ravnet]

No and no.

[neepo13]

I've got a soft spot for J.Lew, I do for all our former players- except those that forget where they came from- but I dont know if I'd welcome that. I am still really angry that he signed with Cleveland in the first place. Part of me doesnt think he deserves to retire a Raven after being a stain for 3 years. The other part of me says his legacy belongs to us, so he should.

[K-Dog]

yeah, every record he set he set with us correct?

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='NeoZer0' date='01 November 2009 - 08:25 PM' timestamp='1257125152' post='271158']
1 day contract. Retire a Raven!
[/quote]
Agreed. One day contract, no need to play. It's strictly ceremonial and no money is exchanged. It's similar to what Jerry Rice did with the 49ers and what others have done in the past.

I'll have made peace with my feelings about Jamal Lewis signing with the Browns, once he's retired. Until then, I still hate him as long as he's wearing a divisional rival's uniform -- but still appreciate him for what he did as a Raven, and will go back to loving him again when he's no longer representing the enemy.

As for the Hall of Fame, it probably won't happen. He's done a lot of awesome things in his career, but his numbers aren't eye-popping these days, and outside of a handful of good seasons as a Raven, his career has been just above-average.

[ravensfolife]

[quote name='Ravnet' date='01 November 2009 - 08:26 PM' timestamp='1257125161' post='271159']
No and no.
[/quote]
Why and hall of fame I agree but he did rush for 2000 and single game rushing record

[FlaccoFlicker]

Definitly the one day contract mentioned the man did alot for us when he was here.

[Slick]

Nah, Jamal already lived out his time here as a Raven. I appreciate what he did for us, but I mean that'd life in the league you don't normally stay with one team all your pro career. I'm surprised we kept Ray his entire career, but I mean he's different I just can't possibly see him in another teams jersey.
Lewis has already been in another jersey, so it doesnt make sense for us to pay him a buncha money just so he can retire a Raven.

[AwakenTheDemon]

No. We have absolutely no need (performance wise) for him. Rice, McGahee, and McClain are absolutely fine. He'd just be taking up a roster spot needed for other more pressing issues. Now if he did want a one day contract, play a game, and retire... well, maybe 'Cause I'm not going to lie, I was upset to see him go to the Browns.

[K-Dog]

sign him for one game. At home against the Browns.

[ravensfolife]

I agree the numbers arent there, but if you notice standards are lower for rb. The two back system everyone is going to may make his numbers look better. I see peterson flaming out like lewis in three years, but in there prime they are very similar

[theFRANCHISE]

For the record, I don't think there's ever been an instance where a player intentionally signs a one-game contract to retire immediately after the game is over. And I doubt that Jamal Lewis would be the first to do so, especially since he intentionally went to a divisional rival for revenge when the Ravens wanted to adjust the ground attack to accommodate a speedier back, thereby phasing out Jamal and making him feel unwanted.

Lewis could've gone after the money (even though there weren't many takers), and he took a smaller contract with Cleveland just to play Baltimore twice a year, rather than taking bigger money with (I believe) the Jets or the Bills. Ironically, the Bills were looking to unload Willis McGahee and would've signed Lewis as his replacement, when the Ravens intended to keep Lewis (for lesser pay) but also wanted to trade for McGahee regardless. Imagine what could've been the one-two punch of Wilis McGahee and Jamal Lewis in 2007!

Keep in mind, because Lewis was an unrestricted free agent and interest in McGahee only began in the offseason, the Ravens could NOT have traded Lewis for McGahee after the 2006 season ended, as Lewis was not under contract.

[neepo13]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' date='01 November 2009 - 08:42 PM' timestamp='1257126141' post='271181']
For the record, I don't think there's ever been an instance where a player intentionally signs a one-game contract to retire immediately after the game is over. And I doubt that Jamal Lewis would be the first to do so, especially since he intentionally went to a divisional rival for revenge when the Ravens wanted to adjust the ground attack to accommodate a speedier back, thereby phasing out Jamal and making him feel unwanted.

Lewis could've gone after the money (even though there weren't many takers), and he took a smaller contract with Cleveland just to play Baltimore twice a year, rather than taking bigger money with (I believe) the Jets or the Bills. Ironically, the Bills were looking to unload Willis McGahee and would've signed Lewis as his replacement, when the Ravens intended to keep Lewis (for lesser pay) but also wanted to trade for McGahee regardless. Imagine what could've been the one-two punch of Wilis McGahee and Jamal Lewis in 2007!

Keep in mind, because Lewis was an unrestricted free agent and interest in McGahee only began in the offseason, the Ravens could NOT have traded Lewis for McGahee after the 2006 season ended, as Lewis was not under contract.
[/quote]

He wasnt an unrestricted free agent. We cut him with the intent to resign him to a cheaper contract. Remember the year before we had signed him to that "3 year contract" but it was really a 1 year deal with a lot of back loaded money, that we didnt want to pay him. His contract expired the year before, when we brought in Mike Anderson and everyone thought he'd be Lewis's back up but Lewis came back.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='neepo13' date='01 November 2009 - 08:45 PM' timestamp='1257126314' post='271185']
He wasnt an unrestricted free agent. We cut him. Remember the year before we had signed him to that "3 year contract" but it was really a 1 year deal with a lot of back loaded money, that we didnt want to pay him. His contract expired the year before, when we brought in Mike Anderson and everyone thought he'd be Lewis's back up.
[/quote]
Crap, I forgot about that. I just pulled up an old ESPN news article about it. My bad!

Either way, Lewis was already gone by the time that public interest in McGahee by the Ravens began, and I'm speculating that cutting him was perhaps a last-resort move after he didn't want to re-negotiate his contract. Ironically, I'm guessing film study on McGahee leading up to the Ravens' season-ending game against the Bills that season, was what led to increased interest in McGahee only a couple months later.

[PSU RAVEN]

One day contract & no money? then sure.
For how great he was during the SB year, please remember that next off-season we let our back up RB, Priest Friggin Holmes, go and then Jamal promptly blows out his knee in training camp!!!

Point is a lot of running backs would have done just fine for the Ravens

[ravensfolife]

[quote name='neepo13' date='01 November 2009 - 08:45 PM' timestamp='1257126314' post='271185']
He wasnt an unrestricted free agent. We cut him with the intent to resign him to a cheaper contract. Remember the year before we had signed him to that "3 year contract" but it was really a 1 year deal with a lot of back loaded money, that we didnt want to pay him. His contract expired the year before, when we brought in Mike Anderson and everyone thought he'd be Lewis's back up but Lewis came back.
[/quote]
He's right, he just wanted to show bmore he wasnt finished yet. We will do the same with willis and i wont hold leaving against him.

[neepo13]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' date='01 November 2009 - 08:49 PM' timestamp='1257126542' post='271192']
Crap, I forgot about that. I just pulled up an old ESPN news article about it. My bad!

Either way, Lewis was already gone by the time that public interest in McGahee by the Ravens began, and I'm speculating that cutting him was perhaps a last-resort move after he didn't want to re-negotiate his contract. Ironically, I'm guessing film study on McGahee leading up to the Ravens' season-ending game against the Bills that season, was what led to increased interest in McGahee only a couple months later.
[/quote]

Jamal negotiated with the Ravens after we cut him, though. He didnt go sign with Cleveland right away. For whatever reason, negotiations broke down, he decided to look at other teams and Ozzie started looking at other running backs. I think the plan was to bring Lewis back and then draft someone late to eventually take over for him. Lewis couldnt be had for Ozzie's price, so he had to abandon that and look for an established running back.

In the end it worked out for the best. We probably wouldnt have ended up with Ray Rice if we had drafted a HB the year before. But we probably wouldnt be stuck with McGahee's insane contract either.

[RavingRaven]

It must be done. His story saddens me. As someone already mentioned, he was the adrian peterson of his class. The man served an unnecessarily harsh sentence because prosecutors could never put our other Lewis in the pen.

He went to the browns for his last shot at income and you can't fault a guy for trying to make a buck. I'll never forget the day he broke the rushing record. Forever a raven in my mind.

[MKdave]

I don't think Jamal is that sentimental a guy. He'd more likely view it more as an unnecessary hassle than anything.

[neepo13]

[quote name='ravensfolife' date='01 November 2009 - 08:52 PM' timestamp='1257126778' post='271195']
He's right, he just wanted to show bmore he wasnt finished yet. We will do the same with willis and i wont hold leaving against him.
[/quote]

Willis isnt "ours" to began with and its two totally different stituations in my opinion. The value of RB on the open market has decreased over the last couple of seasons, with so many good rb's being found in the later rounds and so many teams using multiple back sets. If we want Willis back, after he gets cut in 2010- he will get cut in 2010, the deal we offer him will probably be the best one he gets on the open market.

The other thing is Lewis was coming off a rather productive season, not mind blowing but good enough to win, Willis could possibly be going into FA coming off two lack luster seasons if he doesnt get it together this year.

I dont think the Ravens denied that Lewis could still get it done because like I said we wanted him back and even opened contract negotiations after he left. I think he was insulted by our offer money wise and wanted to prove he was worth more than what Ozzie offered. He had essentially taken a below market value deal the year before to stay in Baltimore and I think he felt disrespected that we wouldnt offer him more money.

[neepo13]

[quote name='MKdave' date='01 November 2009 - 09:03 PM' timestamp='1257127382' post='271211']
I don't think Jamal is that sentimental a guy. He'd more likely view it more as an unnecessary hassle than anything.
[/quote]

I think he'd do it if we asked him to but I dont think we'll ask him to. He'll one day go into our ring of honor probably but beyond that...

[Chi_Town_Raven]

Yeah, it's good that he'll retire a Raven if so happens.

[Ravnet]

[quote name='ravensfolife' date='01 November 2009 - 08:32 PM' timestamp='1257125549' post='271169']
Why and hall of fame I agree but he did rush for 2000 and single game rushing record
[/quote]

He played in Baltimore for six seasons, and apart from that one spectacular year, Jamal averaged about 1150 yards per year as the lone back, which is about 75 yards per game.

While that is certainly respectable, there shouldn't be much fuss over the guy.

[neepo13]

[quote name='Ravnet' date='01 November 2009 - 09:17 PM' timestamp='1257128254' post='271235']
He played in Baltimore for six seasons, and apart from that one spectacular year, Jamal averaged about 1150 yards per year as the lone back.

While that is certainly respectable, there shouldn't be much fuss over the guy.
[/quote]

Thats not really accurate. He only played 5 seasons. His second season he missed the entire season due to injury. I dont know where that leaves his average but its probably a whole lot better than that.

Edit
Nope, my bad he played 6.

[H8R]

Nope. He talked crap about the franchise even a year before we cut him. He was a good player for us but I could care less about retiring a Raven. I feel like we stood by him with the drug thing and yet he bashed us in the media even before leaving.

[PuRock]

Who's to say he would even want to come back?

[Ed_Reed_Pick_Six]

No need for him. Plus he's retiring after this season anyway, announced within the last few hours.

[Alexir]

[quote name='Ed_Reed_Pick_Six' date='01 November 2009 - 09:31 PM' timestamp='1257129074' post='271261']
No need for him. Plus he's retiring after this season anyway, announced within the last few hours.
[/quote]


that's the point, man...

We sign him for a day so he retires as a raven.

[1defense]

I think we should sign him, its the least the Ravens can do look at what he has done for the Ravens.He carried the Ravens when they could not pass the ball and is the biggest reason the Ravens have the championship in 2000.He may not get into the Hall of Fame but that should not be the thing that overshadows what he did here.How many players have had as many 1000yd seasons and let us not forget the 2000 yd season.Bring him home!!!