Correct me if I’m wrong, but the last thing the Dallas Cowboys need is a big personality on their team and in their locker room. Granted, at least adding Ray Lewis would bring some positives in terms of building a “team,” but how many high-priced talents can one have? The Yankees have already proven that an All-Star laden lineup doesn’t necessarily buy championships. While Lewis would theoretically be good to police the locker room, there are many reasons I feel it would be another money pit for Jerry Jones.
The Baltimore Sun says Jerry Jones is willing to pay $27-30 million over three years with $25 mil guaranteed for Lewis’ services. Ray Lewis is 33, and as superhuman as he may appear to be, he’s not going to defy the aging process — it just doesn’t work that way. Furthermore, Lewis is becoming more of a product of the Baltimore defense these days than the catalyst of it. Lewis’ tackling numbers and sack totals had been decreasing the past few seasons until the team drafted a big lineman up front to take away blockers, allowing him to be more effective in run defense. If you remember, Lewis practically begged for Haloti Ngata. Moreover, the Ravens’ strong secondary with Ed Reed and the blitzing abilities of Terrell Suggs has led to much of the team’s success on that side of the ball. For as many good plays as I saw Ray Lewis make this year, I saw just as many missed tackles on run defense.
Nothing concrete has happened yet and it will be up to the Ravens to make a move, but signing Ray Lewis would just be bringing more sand to an already ugly beach. It just doesn’t seem like that’s the answer for the Cowboys. Now if Jerry’s just looking for media attention, that’s probably a perfect solution.
