Could it be that one of the baddest linebackers in the NFL could be coming to the Jets as a free agent this offseason?
If you listen to Ravens’ LB Ray Lewis, known as one of the hardest-hitting, most vociferous defensive players in the land, that possibility is far from a pipe dream. He is, after all, an unrestricted free agent and the signing period begins on Feb. 27.
Lewis, 33, speaking yesterday with the NFL Network while in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, called the Jets an “attractive option” with Rex Ryan, his defensive coordinator in Baltimore, now the Jets head coach.
“You can take a young Jets team that has a lot of talent across the board when you try to wiggle (No.) 52 into that equation somewhere or other than that team goes from just being OK to, let’s just win this,” Lewis said. “That scenario by itself is always attractive. That’s a great opportunity, reason being we (he and Ryan) have been together for years.
“We won a Super Bowl together and the mentality that we both need to sit down and understand each other and understand what’s best for our defense and what’s best for our team.
“That relationship by itself is a match, because of the relationship me and Rex have always had. That opportunity by itself looks attractive, seems attractive.”
Lewis said he has yet to talk to Ryan since he became the head coach of the Jets.
Lewis, who has played all 13 of his seasons with the Ravens and is a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is joined on the unrestricted free-agent list with fellow Baltimore linebackers Terrrell Suggs and Bart Scott.
Though the Jets are believed to be too close to the salary cap, undoubtedly Ryan is looking at the possibility of bringing some familiar faces to the Jets to bolster his new defense.
“It sounds right, you know, if something does happen where I don’t go back to Baltimore, then the Jets want me,” Lewis said. “Baltimore is my city, that’s where I grind at. That’s where I’ve been my whole life.”
Lewis went as far as to lobby for Brett Favre to return to the Jets. He hinted that Favre returning would be a factor in swaying him to sign with the Jets since it would have the Jets in a win-now mode.
“That scenario you almost have to see where it goes to see what they’re doing as an organization,” Lewis said. “Then that’s when you can jump in and pick up where they’re going to leave off. If they’re saying we are going to go after Brett, then that’s when I am going to make a phone call.”
Lewis said he would thrive on dealing with the pressures that come from playing in New York.
“I don’t feel no pressure, not about playing football,” he said. “Football is too easy for me to worry about pressure. Bottom line, when you have the media capital like that, the upside of it is what’s more attractive than anything.”
Earlier this offseason, Suggs suggested that he, Lewis and Scott could remain with the Ravens if they give the team a discount.
“We really don’t want to play without one another because we’ve been playing together for so long,” Suggs told Sirius NFL radio.
Lewis, who had 117 tackles, three interceptions and 3 1/2 sacks last season, yesterday scoffed at the notion of a discount saying that the business end of things would take care of itself.
The Jets’ starting middle linebackers are David Harris and Eric Barton in their 3-4 defense. Barton becomes a free agent later this month and likely will not be re-signed, further opening the door for a ballyhooed Lewis arrival.