Ravens Have Three LBs Headed to Free Agency; Cowboys Love Ray-Ray

The 2008 Ravens exceeded everybody's expectations, including their own, I'd imagine. After winning just five times a year ago, Brian Billick was canned, and the front office wasted little time in their search for the next franchise quarterback. Hello, Joe Flacco.

So while the offense -- for the first time since coming to Baltimore last decade -- is headed in the right direction, the defense could be totally revamped next season. And that's a disconcerting thought since they're the unit primarily responsible for this organization's success.

The team's on-field leader and spiritual guru Ray Lewis will be a free agent in a few weeks, and he'll be joined by linebackers Bart Scott and Terrell Suggs.

The idea of Baltimore stepping on the field without Ray-Ray is hard to imagine, but it's a distinct possibility because he's 33 years old and looking for one more big payday. And that, coupled with Suggs' impending free agency, could mean the team has to chose one over the other.

Whatever happens, one thing's almost certain: Scott is as good as gone. He won't have any trouble finding work, but his production has dropped in recent seasons, and any salary-cap dollars devoted to linebackers are going to Lewis, Suggs, or both.

One option: sign Lewis to a short-ish term, incentive-laden deal with a pretty nice up-front bonus, and then slap Suggs with the franchise tag. Lewis isn't the player he was seven or eight years ago, but he's still one of the best middle linebackers in football. Suggs is 25 and he might be more amenable to a one-year contract if it means long-term extension in '10.

Alternatively, Baltimore could just let Lewis walk and re-sign Suggs now. Like Scott, Ray-Ray wouldn't be unemployed long. The difference? About 20 million bucks, is my guess. Last month I mentioned that Jerry Jones (naturally) could be an early favorite in the Ray-Ray sweepstakes. And today, the Baltimore Sun's Mike Preston keeps hope alive:

Word around the NFL is that the Dallas Cowboys are very interested in obtaining Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis if he becomes a free agent. The speculation is that the Cowboys are willing to give Lewis a three-year deal worth between $27 and $30 million, with $25 million guaranteed.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones believes his team is in the serious hunt for a Super Bowl title next season, and that Lewis could help solve some of the team's problems inside the locker room.

Hardly shocking, particularly if Jones thinks the Cowboys are a serious Super Bowl contender and that Lewis is the guy who'll magically fix the team's chemistry problems. Both assumptions seem reasonable, but it took Joey Porter -- the one-time Steelers leader -- a year to get comfortable in Miami, so I'm not sure Lewis can just show up at Valley Ranch in a cowboy hat and suddenly start barking orders.

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here; the Ravens have a month and a half to figure out how to keep Lewis in Baltimore, and for Joe Flacco's sake, here's to hoping they do it.

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