Ray Lewis has quit football and apparently he's leaving his Florida mansion behind too.

The Ravens star has put his West Palm Beach property on the market, asking $5 million for the luxury estate.

The home, along the prestigious Ocean Drive, boasts seven bedrooms and more than 6,700 square feet to spread out and squirrel dance. Built in 2001, there are also nine bathrooms, a five-car garage, a pool and an elevator.

It's a pink Mediterranean, surrounded by lush tropical landscaping. From his back deck, Lewis could have lounged on deck chairs while watching the waves roll in. There's also an outdoor dining table. 

Inside it's rather elegant, with cathedral ceilings, marble everywhere and grand columns. There's even a piano in the corner of what must be the living room.

The kitchen granite alone probably costs more than an ordinary person's entire house. His laundry room? That's the size of what most would consider a big kitchen. And the master bath? Room for the entire Ravens squad to wash up at once.

A few fun details:

There's at least one bidet.

There's a manly, wood-heavy office with a football helmet on one of the built-in shelving units. There's also -- go figure -- a bowling pin.

A small herd of elephant statues -- two -- hangs out near the piano.

Lewis bought the property in 2004 for just over $5.2 million.

Click here to see more photos.


(baltimoresun.com)

If there was any lingering doubt that Ed Reed was intent about testing the free agent market and leaving the only NFL organization he’s ever known, it should have been erased Thursday afternoon when the long-time Ravens safety stepped off a plane adorned with a Houston Texans’ logo.

Texans general manager Rick Smith traveled to Atlanta on team chairman and CEO Bob McNair’s private plane to pick up Reed at his offseason home and then brought him back to Houston where the unrestricted free agent spent the day at Reliant Stadium, meeting with team officials. All indications were that Reed was extremely impressed by the visit.

While no deal was struck and the cash-challenged Ravens maintain interest in him, Reed was scheduled to have dinner with Texans' coaches and spend the night in the Houston area and seems poised to become the latest member of the Super Bowl XLVII champions to bolt to another team. Reed even talked about the Ravens, who he played with for 11 seasons, in the past tense.

“It has been a great ride,” Reed said to a small group of reporters, including one from the Houston Chronicle, after arriving at Reliant Stadium. “The fan support has been truly amazing, a lot of love and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It’s definitely tough, but after 11 years, you pretty much understand things about the business. After leaving a program like Miami and being around the great people in Baltimore, I think the transition [to a new team] will be all right.”

The Texans, who lost starting safety Glover Quin to the Detroit Lions on Wednesday, rolled out the red carpet for Reed and chronicled his visit on the team’s Twitter account as if he was a rock star. The account proclaimed “Wheels up!” when McNair’s plane took off for Atlanta and then noted when Reed entered the team offices. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips also took to his Twitter account to say that Reed had stopped by his office for a talk.

“This is classy, man,” Reed, a Louisiana native, told reporters. “This is southern hospitality. It’s a great feeling.”

A source with knowledge of the situation indicated that the Texans have been communicating with the 34-year-old since Tuesday’s start of free agency and they were prepared to get close to Reed’s asking price, which is believed to be $6 million annually. Contract parameters had already been discussed before Reed arrived Thursday in Houston.

“It’s mutual,” Reed told reporters early in his visit. “Both of us are contenders and want to get a championship, but we still have some things to work out. Conversations have been great, amazing. We’re on the same page as far as what we need to get done.”

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, who spoke with the franchise leader in interceptions before free agency started to let Reed know where the team stood, did not respond to a request for comment about the situation.

Reed’s pending loss would continue a mass exodus from the Ravens since they won their second Super Bowl with a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 3 in New Orleans. Center Matt Birk and middle linebacker Ray Lewis have retired. Wide receiver Anquan Boldin was traded. Guard Bobbie Williams and safety Bernard Pollard were released. Linebackers Paul Kruger and Dannell Ellerbe and cornerback Cary Williams have left in free agency.

All told, the Ravens have lost six starters from the Super Bowl and eight players who started a game at some point during the 2012-13 campaign. And that number could grow with Reed seemingly poised to leave and left tackle Bryant McKinnie and nose tackle Ma’ake Kemoeatu immersed in free agency.

At the season wrap-up news conference last month, Newsome spoke of wanting to make the organization’s relationship with Reed “last a bit longer.” However, after what has transpired over the past couple of weeks, re-signing the veteran doesn’t seem to fit with the Ravens’ offseason trend of getting younger and cheaper, particularly on defense.

The loss of Reed, coupled by Lewis’ retirement after 17 seasons, would leave the Ravens without the two players who have defined the team’s defensive excellence. Reed started every game for the Ravens this past season and finished with four interceptions. However, he was not the big-play threat that the Ravens have grown accustomed to and his tackling issues were problematic at times.

Still, he was one of the team leaders and he had earned his status as one of the best free safeties to ever play the game. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection and former Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year, he’s had five or more interceptions in seven of his 11 NFL seasons, and his 61 career regular-season interceptions are a franchise high and the most in the NFL since he entered the NFL.

No Raven appeared to enjoy the Super Bowl victory as much as Reed, who celebrated winning his first ring less than a half hour from where he grew up. In the days that followed the win, Reed said that he planned on being a Raven for the rest of his career.

However, from the moment he stepped off McNair’s plane today, it became increasingly clear that Reed and the Ravens could be parting ways, perhaps as early as Friday.


(baltimoresun.com)

On Tuesday, the Ravens lost multiple key players.

On Wednesday, ESPN officially trotted out former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis as an employee, to talk about the players the Ravens have lost.

The hire officially has been announced, and he’s already on air talking about how the Ravens will proceed without him and Anquan Boldin and Paul Kruger and Dannell Ellerbe.

But forget about objectivity from Ray when it comes to the Ravens.  “It’s not as if I’m not gonna be around that program, to always be around to help them in whatever way I can,” Lewis said on the air moments ago.

He’ll specifically be around ESPN on Monday nights during football season.  Lewis, per ESPN, will join the on-site desk, with Stuart Scott, Steve Young, and Trent Dilfer.

Lewis also will make appearances on Sunday NFL Countdown, contribute once per week to ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning, and Lewis will “have the opportunity to host specials similar to Jon Gruden’s QB Camp series.”

The arrangement is good news for Cris Carter and Keyshawn Johnson.  It was believed that, with Lewis and possibly Tony Gonzalez joining ESPN as full-time Sunday contributors, the C+Key Music Factory would be shown the door.

It also means that Lewis will be able to attend most if not all of his son’s games at the University of Miami on Saturdays, and then to head to the site of the Monday night game.


(profootbtalltalk.com)

The changing of the guard at tailback in Miami was nearly a year in the making.

Following Day 3 of the 2012 NFL draft, Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland gushed about fourth-round pick Lamar Miller. Ireland traded up six spots to draft Miller, who played at nearby University of Miami. Ireland knew Miller well and believed he was a first- or second-round talent. But Miller’s stock dropped due to a lingering shoulder injury he suffered in college.

Miller flashed plenty of ability throughout Miami's training camp. He saw his first action in Week 2 against the Oakland Raiders and rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown. Miller also rushed for a career-high 73 yards on 10 carries against the Buffalo Bills in Week 16. Miller received just 51 carries last season but averaged a team-high 4.9 yards per rush.

This is why it was no surprise that Miami will not re-sign starting running back Reggie Bush. The Dolphins believe Miller is ready to take on a bigger role at a more affordable rate than Bush. Miller will pair with former second-round pick Daniel Thomas in Miami next season.

Bush developed into a leader in Miami and rushed for more than 2,000 yards the past two seasons. Bush should get a nice contract elsewhere in free agency. He's earned it, but Bush is far from irreplaceable in Miami.

The Dolphins have plenty of depth at running back and should be fine with Miller, Thomas and perhaps a third running back via the draft or free agency. Miami’s primary focus should be adding depth at weaker positions such as cornerback, wide receiver and tight end.


(espn.com)

DENVER (CBS4/AP) – D.J. Williams is no longer a Bronco. The team released him on Monday, a day before the start of the NFL’s free agency period.

Williams was tied with Champ Bailey as the longest tenured member of the team. Williams, an alum of the University of Miami, was drafted by the Broncos in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft with the No. 17 pick.

Williams had to sit out the first nine games of last season while serving two consecutive suspensions. One six game suspension was for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs and the other was for an alcohol-related arrest.

Linebackers Wesley Woodyard and Keith Brooking took on bigger roles in Williams’ absence.

Over the years with the Broncos Williams started at the weakside, middle, strongside and inside linebacker.

“We appreciate the contributions made by D.J. Williams during his time with the Broncos. He was a solid player with this team for a number of years, showing a lot of versatility at linebacker. Our organization wishes D.J. all the best going forward,” John Elway said in a prepared statement.

Williams turns 31 this summer and is sure to draw interest on the open market but he is coming off a season in which he collected just 14 tackles in seven games and only made one start because of his two suspensions that cost him about $4 million in salary and relegated him to playing on special teams and in sub packages upon his return in November.

The Broncos released the following statistics about Williams’ career to date in the NFL:

- 127 career regular-season games
- 115 starts
- 886 tackles (673 solo)
- 20.5 sacks
- Two interceptions
- 41 passes defensed
- 14 forced fumbles
- Seven fumble recoveries.
- Opened five-of-six postseason contests for the Broncos, contributing 40 tackles (23 solo), 0.5 sacks (3.5 avg.) and three passes defensed
- One of just five NFL players during the last nine seasons to post at least 800 tackles and 20 sacks

The Broncos also released third quarterback Caleb Hanie, who didn’t take a single snap in his one season in Denver last year behind Peyton Manning and his backup, rookie Brock Osweiler.

The Broncos also have asked Pro Bowl defensive end Elvis Dumervil to take a pay cut. If not, he’ll be traded or released before Saturday when his $12 million salary for 2013 becomes guaranteed. Dumervil is also due $10 million in 2014 and $8 million in 2015.

If Dumervil follows Williams out the door, the Broncos will have some big shoes to fill on a defense that was one of the NFL’s stingiest last season.


(cbslocal.com)

In a not-so-surprising move, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke has signed his one-year exclusive tender of $555,000.

Exclusive rights free agents have no choice but to sign their tenders as they can't negotiate with other teams.

Van Dyke was signed last year by the Steelers after clearing waivers just prior to the start of the regular season after being waived by the Oakland Raiders.
The fastest man at the 2011 NFL combine was originally drafted by the Raiders in the 3rd round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Van Dyke only saw time on special teams last year for the Steelers and became a liability in that area as he was penalized five times in total. Those penalties led to him being benched temporarily by head coach Mike Tomlin as a result.

Van Dyke ended the season on injured reserve after he suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery in the Week 15 game against the Dallas Cowboys.He figures to compete for a spot on the 53 man roster during training camp.


(steelersdepot.com)

Ravens future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed, who quietly hired an agent over the weekend after years of representing himself, is visiting the Texans on Thursday and could meet with the 49ers and Colts, according to league sources.

Reed's pedigree and leadership distinguish him on the free-agent market, though he is 34. The Texans have a need after making strong efforts to retain Glover Quin, who signed with the Lions. The 49ers are still looking for help as well, and it's worth noting Reed is very close with Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, who he played for in Baltimore and in college.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome spoke with Reed before the market opened and said the team would monitor his situation and would see how the market would shape up, though Baltimore did not extend an offer at that time.

Reed is considered by many the greatest safety in NFL history and is coming off a strong playoff performance, where his presence dissuaded stars like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady from throwing downfield.


(cbssports.com)

Saints LB Jonathan Vilma took a $3.7 million pay cut to stay in New Orleans.

He sliced his salary from $4.8 million all the way down to $1 million. Vilma did have his offseason workout bonus increased from $100,000 to $200,000, but this was a pretty large pay cut. Vilma's salary cap number has been reduced from $8.633 million to $3.833 million. Though a poor run defender at age 31, Vilma remains decent in pass coverage. He'll likely be a nickel 'backer in 2013.


(rotoworld.com)

The Packers made it more difficult for restricted free agent CB Sam Shields to find his pot of gold after slapping the second-round tender on him, according to multiple reports.

As a result of receiving the middle of three possible tenders, worth $2.023 million over one year, the compensation level set for any team wanting to sign Shields is a second-round pick. If Shields were to sign an offer sheet, the Packers would have the option of matching the offer or accepting the second-round pick.

Last month, several personnel evaluators  predicted that Shields would receive the second-round tender. After a poor start to the 2013 season, Shields won back a starting position and went on to have a very good season, improving as both a cover man and as a tackler.

Shields does not have the reputation around the NFL as a sure thing, but his upside is big because he's arguably the fastest player on the team and is a relative novice at the position given he mostly played wide receiver and special teams at the University of Miami.

"(Shields is a) very good role player as a third corner, but he is small and more than likely it's safe to assume he will have some injuries because of the lack of size," one personnel director said. "This is a tough one that I'm glad we don't have to ponder this year.

"I am guessing they will do the two and will always have the (match) if someone does offer and they want to keep him."

The reports on Shields - from both ProFootballTalk and ESPN.com -- receiving the second-round tender are very likely accurate given Shields' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, because it's well known that he generally talks only to those two outlets. It is unclear whether Rosenhaus has spoken to the Packers about a long-term deal.

At the combine last month, Rosenhaus declined to talk about Shields' situation.

The Packers are not taking the same risk with Shields that they are taking with C Evan Dietrich-Smith, who received the low tender on Monday. Dietrich-Smith also wasn't drafted so there is no compensation tied to him and the best the Packers could do if he were to receive an offer sheet is to match it.

With Shields getting the second-round tender and Dietrich-Smith the low tender, the Packers have used $3.346 million of salary cap money on restricted free agents. They have three other RFAs in TE Tom Crabtree, LB Robert Francois and LB Frank Zombo.

Francois and Zombo are not likely to be tendered and will become free agents. The Packers may try to re-sign them after they are let go. It's unclear whether they intend to tender Crabtree.


(jsonline.com)

The Ravens have re-signed exclusive rights free agent running back Damien Berry and restricted free agent guard Ramon Harewood to one-year contracts.

The Washington Redskins on Tuesday restructured the contract of wide receiver Santana Moss. According to Mike Jones and Mark Maske, the restructure does not add any years onto Moss' contract but instead converts $2 million of his 2013 salary into incentives. This saves the Redskins $2 million against the salary cap, and since Mike Shanahan said Monday that they were about $1 million under, you figure now that they're about $3 million under. (That's right. I was really good at math in high school. It's OK to be impressed.) That leaves them room to sign a free agent when the window opens at 4 p.m. ET today, and I wouldn't be surprised if they came out of the day with a new cornerback. I think Derek Cox from Jacksonville makes a lot of sense, and it's easy to connect the dots on Aqib Talib as well.

But we'll know all of that soon enough. The point I wanted to make here is about the two veteran restructures the Redskins have done in the past two days. Neither Moss nor defensive end Adam Carriker had any years added onto their deals. Carriker, like Moss, agreed to convert a portion of his guaranteed salary into incentives. And though these incentives have been characterized as "attainable," giving up guaranteed money is always a risk in a league in which your season could end on any given play. What you're seeing with Moss and Carriker is players agreeing to help out the team with its salary cap problem in ways that could end up costing them money. And I think that's significant and says something about the culture that's been established around the Redskins in recent years.

Now, of course it's possible that Carriker and Moss were told they'd be released if they didn't take the pay cuts. The Redskins did cut cornerback DeAngelo Hall on Monday without an attempt at restructuring. But it's noteworthy that these two restructures do not simply shift salary-cap costs into future years, as many of the restructures being done around the league do. It's clear that Shanahan wants to avoid that practice if at all possible, and it appears he's been able to do that so far in spite of the $18 million in cap penalties still affecting the franchise. It's entirely possible that, as free agency rolls along, the Redskins have to do the more common type of restructuring with some of their deals. But so far, they've avoided it.


(espn.com)

According to Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego, Eric Winston visited the Chargers this weekend.

The Chargers have needs across the offensive line, and Winston would be an upgrade over Jeromey Clary, the incumbent with a $5.7 million cap number.

There were reports of interest from the Eagles and Texans shortly after Winston’s release, though no other reported visits. And in a few hours, the market will be full of other starting tackle options, which might make this the time to strike.


(profootballtalk.com)

As one of last year’s Sunday Night Football games went to break, producer extraordinaire Fred Gaudelli played the song Driver’s Seat.  Peter King and I quickly tried to recall the name of the band.

I guessed Foghat, primarily because I like saying the word “Foghat.”  It was actually the one hit from one-hit wonder Sniff ‘n’ the Tears.

And then I couldn’t get the song out of my head for like 10 days.

It’s now clanging around in my relatively hollow noggin again, after typing the headline to this story.  But it was the only way to describe the current situation in Baltimore.

With Ray Lewis gone and Anquan Boldin gone and Paul Kruger gone and Dannell Ellerbe gone, the Ravens have to keep Ed Reed.  Which means that they may be paying more for Reed than they wanted to pay.

It all started, in our view, with the gamble the Ravens made in 2012 regarding Joe Flacco’s contract.  They didn’t give him what he wanted at the time, knowing that if he led the team to the Super Bowl they’d have to pay the piper at the appropriate time.

The problem is that, when the Super Bowl MVP gets a new contract only a few weeks after the game and becomes the highest-paid player in league history in the process, it becomes very difficult to persuade anyone else on the team to take anything less than top dollar.

It was already a foregone conclusion that the Ravens couldn’t/wouldn’t give Kruger what he could get elsewhere.  But the Ravens misplayed their hand with receiver Anquan Boldin, taking advantage of his “I’ll retire if I’m cut” comments to Pro Football Talk and trying to squeeze him into taking less money.

Why should he take less money when the Super Bowl MVP is getting $20.1 million per year?  The fact that at least two other teams were willing to absorb Boldin’s $6 million salary proves that, for a player of his caliber, $6 million for one year isn’t too much.

The Ravens may have similarly underestimated Ellerbe, who said last month, “My heart is in Baltimore, I love Baltimore, I love the fans, I love talking to y’all guys and I know I’m not going to talk to y’all somewhere else.”

It all changes once a $29 million check gets written to Flacco.  If winning the Super Bowl means getting paid if you can and there’s a team willing to pay more than the Ravens, then you chase the cash.

That’s why the Patriots apparently tried, subtly, to create the impression that Tom Brady’s new contract results in less money in the future and less money now.  When guys like Wes Welker are considering the possibility of making more elsewhere, the “take less and win” vibe can make a difference.

In Baltimore, the Ravens’ gamble resulted in Flacco getting the more not less — and it has created an atmosphere where everyone else justifiably wants that, too.

Advantage Ed Reed.


(profootballtalk.com)

The Detroit Lions want Jason Fox to compete for a starting spot on their offensive line this fall, and they took a step today to make sure he's around to do it.

The Lions tendered Fox a $1.323 million restricted free-agent offer, giving them the right to match any contract Fox receives when free agency opened at 4 p.m. Tuesday or get a fourth-round draft pick as compensation.

A fourth-round pick out of Miami (Fla.) in 2010, Fox has appeared in just five NFL games in his first three seasons and missed large chunks of 2010-11 with knee injuries.

Still, the Lions think Fox has the ability to start at right tackle. Corey Hilliard, who signed a new two-year deal earlier this month, also will compete for the job, and Riley Reiff, a first-round pick last year, could start at either tackle spot or right guard.

"We think he has starter type talent level," Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said at the NFL combine last month. "He has the size, he's a strong enough guy, he's a good technician, he's a hard worker. We think he has the ability to start for us."

The Lions are expected to retain all three of their restricted free agents -- defensive end Willie Young and safety Amari Spievey are the others -- and their four exclusive rights free agents (running back Joique Bell, fullback Shaun Chapas, receiver Kris Durham and safety Ricardo Silva).

Chapas, Durham and Silva also received their tender offers today.

The Lions are about $4 million under the salary cap heading into free agency and have to restructure more contracts to create more spending room.


(freep.com)