Odell Beckham Jr. Does (Near) Perfect Ray Lewis Dance After Touchdown
Plenty of people have tried to emulate Ray Lewis’ famous squirrel dance, only to fall miserably short.
Case in point: See my boy (and fellow BYU alum) Steve Young’s attempt below. Yikes.
But New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. pulled out Lewis’ dance after an exhilarating 84-yard, game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game against the Miami Dolphins, and he certainly did it justice.
OBJ with a very aggressive rendition of the Ray Lewis dance. pic.twitter.com/EgV0DpFzbV
— JennaLaineBucs (@JennaLaineBucs) December 15, 2015 “Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, right @raylewis?” wrote ESPN’s Monday Night Football Twitter account.
I’ve seen plenty of people say Beckham nailed it, but allow me to get into to my dancing critique mode, as a person who’s seen Ray perform that dance a gazillion times. I’d say Beckham needs to hold the final knee-to-chest move for a little longer while letting out a big belly scream. Otherwise, it was very well done.
It’s possible Beckham planned that dance before the game, as a way to pay homage to the football legend. Lewis and Beckham were seen chatting it up during warmups in this ESPN Instagram post with a caption that read, “Real recognizes real.”
Lewis was at the game as a Monday Night Football commentator and analyst.
"I've watched him for a long time," Beckham said after the game with Lewis standing next to him. "It's something that I've seen. I know you love the game. You have fun, and it showed in the way you played."
Soooo, Did Ravens Sign Ryan Mallett?
ESPN’s Dianna Marie Russini was the first to report the Ravens were going to sign former Houston Texans and New England Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett to the active roster, and it was later corroborated by The Baltimore Sun.
But when asked by reporters to confirm the signing Monday afternoon, Head Coach John Harbaugh couldn’t do it.
“No, I can’t confirm it. I haven’t been informed of that,” Harbaugh said. “We worked him out a couple of weeks ago. He had a good workout. He had some personal things that he had to work through. If that happens in the near future, that would be great. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. But, that’s nothing I’ve been told that we’ve done to date.”
ESPN's Coley Harvey reported that the Cincinnati Bengals also have interest Mallett and could sign him if he fails to reach a deal with the Ravens. Bengals starting quarterback Andy Dalton could miss the rest of the season with a thumb injury.
Regardless of whether Mallett is actually signed, the mere interest in signing him this week could be an indication that 
“Harbaugh wouldn’t confirm the Mallett signing, but sources say he has joined the team, which would put him in the mix to possibly get a look later in the season,” wrote The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli.
Wonder how severe Matt Schaub's injury is with the signing of Ryan Mallet. Teams rarely carry four QBs. Schaub, Clausen, Mallet, Renner.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) December 14, 2015 NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday morning that Mallett decided to join the Ravens after competitive interest from other teams. He also said that the contract will extend into 2016, giving the Ravens an experienced backup under contract behind
After deciding last night to join #Ravens over a push from QB-needy teams, Ryan Mallett will sign today a deal with up to $2.5M in 2016
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 15, 2015
Starting QB Situation Remains Cloudy
We could have another week in which we don’t know who the starting quarterback will be until just before kickoff. Harbaugh certainly wasn’t giving away any clues.
He said Monday that he has “two good options” in Schaub and
"If [Schaub is] at 100 percent and he's ready to go, or close to, and you feel like he can go out there and win for us, then he'll play," Harbaugh said. "If we feel like it's a better option to go with Jimmy, then we'll do that."
Schaub started in the first two games after Joe Flacco was placed on injured reserve, but missed Sunday’s game with a chest injury sustained in Miami. Clausen exceeded media expectations against a stout Seahawks defense by throwing for a career-high 274 yards.
Even though Clausen didn’t lead a scoring drive and didn’t get the win, if you ask ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, Clausen deserves a second start.
“Clausen showed a stronger arm than Schaub, displayed more command of the offense and avoided critical mistakes,” Hensley wrote. “It's too early to say Clausen should return as the Ravens' No. 2 quarterback in 2016. But he certainly deserves another shot.”
After Harbaugh announced 11-year veteran Chris Canty will go on injured reserve with a torn pectoral, his NFL future quickly became a topic of conversation.
Before signing a two-year deal reportedly worth $4.65 million with the Ravens last March, Canty talked about the possibility of retirement. But apparently that isn’t in his plans this year.
“Though under contract for another season, Canty carries a $2.915 million salary cap figure for 2016, meaning the Ravens could part ways with the 11th-year veteran to save $2.15 million in cap space,” wrote WNST’s Luke Jones. “The University of Virginia product recently told WNST.net that he wants to continue playing next season despite pondering retirement at the end of last season.
“With fifth-year defensive end
Once Canty is officially moved to injured reserve, he will be the 18th player on the list. That number doesn’t even include tight end
The 2015 @Ravens: pic.twitter.com/aKlc38ItDa
— Ben Rosen (@Rosen) December 14, 2015 Steve Smith Not Dropping Any Hints About Future
While Ravens wide receiver
The 15-year veteran hosted a Holiday Helpers event with 60 kids at Target Monday night. When reporters inquired about his football plans, the conversation was quickly steered in another direction.
“Smith refused to discuss his future, and whether he planned to retire or return to the Ravens next season,” wrote CSNmidatlantic.com’s Clifton Brown.
“An early Christmas present for Ravens’ fans would be for Smith to announce that he plans to return next season. But if that announcement is coming, it will have to wait.”
Quick Hits
.@89SteveSmith hosted the annual Holiday Helpers shopping event at @Target w/@Ravens players as celebrity shoppers! pic.twitter.com/4jHON7obSz
— Ravens Community (@RavensCommunity) December 15, 2015 Today @Ravens defensive players @KLM_89, @Carldavis94 & @urbanlegend96 distributed holiday meals via @GiantFood! pic.twitter.com/alFafTccLu
— Ravens Community (@RavensCommunity) December 14, 2015 Congrats to @JForsett for being named a finalist for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award: https://t.co/9HUm5YGccE pic.twitter.com/HtElv0PWzb
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 14, 2015 Thank you definitely an amazing honor! https://t.co/qmuYs1HzFt
— Justin Forsett (@JForsett) December 15, 2015 With Joe Haden going to Injured Reserve, the #Browns fill his roster spot by claiming OL Kaleb Johnson from the #Ravens
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 14, 2015 Elevating Rolle and Price from PS gives Ravens control over them for 2016 as ERFAs. Otherwise, are FAs in 3 weeks. https://t.co/WNTYEpKoqD
— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) December 14, 2015 Breakdown of some of Ravens who are in danger of not being back next year or may have fans not wanting them back!: pic.twitter.com/MO3TUxPDMh
— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) December 14, 2015 John Harbaugh says Lardarius Webb shouldn't be blamed for struggles https://t.co/ATBJdtfgPg #ravens
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) December 14, 2015 
