He talked about it all year. Now his wish has finally come true.
Jacoby Jones will be on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars.”
The announcement was made in a commercial break during the Oscars. Jones and the rest of the upcoming cast will be officially announced Tuesday on “Good Morning America.”
Season 16 of DWTS (yes, I’m abbreviating it already) will debut on March 18.
"Jacoby Jones just won a Super Bowl ring," the commercial said. "What is he going to do next? Dance."
Seriously, how exciting is this? If I could set my DVR right now, it would be done.
Jones entertained Baltimore all year long with his dance moves (of which he had a different one for every touchdown he scored). There was the Choppa City Juke and many, many more.
Well Jones’ two touchdowns at the Super Bowl, including one punctuated by the Squirrel Dance, have launched him into national stardom. So now he’s got an invitation to entertain millions more.
The show usually casts an NFL player, and typically one with lots of character (of which Jacoby is clearly overflowing).
Former Dallas running back Emmitt Smith, Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward and Green Bay wide receiver Donald Driver were all on the show and won, and former Miami defensive end Jason Taylor, Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp and San Francisco wide receiver Jerry Rice were finalists. Former Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Ochocinco was a semifinalist.
Last year, New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz opted not to take his salsa dancing to the show, however, because it has the potential to eat into the offseason football schedule.
“It’ll be interesting to see how the Ravens react to the situation,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote.
“If Jones is successful, he’ll miss a big chunk of the offseason program — which could make the Ravens at least consider dumping his $3 million salary, if they don’t like the idea of Jones missing ‘voluntary’ offseason work.”
Head Coach John Harbaugh has always been a coach that encourages his players to let their personality shine. Jones is also a player with an excellent work ethic. I doubt this would affect their decision on Jones, but we will see.
Jacoby already has the support of teammate
Next subject...Jacoby is going to win DWTS and twitter will help #ravensnation
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) February 25, 2013
Flacco Contract Talks Start Well
“By all accounts, the Friday night meeting in downtown Indianapolis adjacent to the Ravens team hotel went fine and talks will continue,” Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun reports.
“Agent Joe Linta called his meeting with Ravens V.P. of football administration Pat Moriarty a ‘good start,’” reports Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
“Still, Linta said the two sides have a ‘long way to go.’”
The two sides have until March 4 to reach a deal before the franchise tag must be used. That opens up a whole other issue …
Will Ravens Gamble With Tag?
There are conflicting reports on whether the Ravens would use the exclusive or nonexclusive franchise tender on Flacco if they cannot reach a deal by March 4.
If the Ravens use the non-exclusive tag, it would cost $14.6 million this year. The exclusive tag would be $20.46 million – a big difference for a cap-squeezed team.
If a deal wasn't worked out and Flacco played the next three years, the tag would jump 20 percent, then 44 percent in 2015 for a salary of $35.36 million. So over three years, the exclusive tag would cost $80.37 million. That’s some huge money.
The risk of using the non-exclusive tag is that teams can approach Flacco with contract offers. The Ravens would also have the right of first refusal to match any competing offer. If they do not or can’t match it, the Ravens would be compensated with two first-round picks.
“However, that's regarded as an extremely unlikely scenario because the Ravens won't risk losing Flacco after he upgraded his play significantly during the postseason with 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the playoffs,” Wilson writes.
While Wilson sees the exclusive tag coming, Florio is hearing otherwise.
“The current speculation, buzz, rumors (whatever) at the Scouting Combine point to the Ravens using the non-exclusive tag while negotiations on a long-term deal continue,” he wrote Sunday. “The Ravens then would request, hope, pray (whatever) that Flacco would bring any other offer sheet he gets back to the Ravens before signing it.
“This strategy would entail plenty of risk. It’s one thing to ask, hope, pray (whatever) that Flacco would bring back an offer sheet before signing it. It’s quite another for Flacco to do it — especially if any team that plans to pursue Flacco realizes that a full-court press must be employed, aimed at getting Flacco to sign an offer sheet the Ravens can’t or won’t match.”
Ravens Assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta told Florio, face-to-face, that the chances of Flacco leaving Baltimore are “negligible.” He did not specifically say which tag the Ravens will use, however.
“While 99 percent of the media will continue to presume there’s a 100-percent chance Flacco will be back in Baltimore, it’s impossible to lose sight of the one-percent possibility that the Ravens will gamble and lose . . . again,” Florio wrote, saying the Ravens lost when they didn’t sign Flacco last offseason.
Have you ever heard Ray Lewis say he was nervous?
Well he was this Sunday at the Daytona 500 when he waved the green flag at the start of the race.
"I'm a little nervous,” Lewis said before the race. “Brad [Keselowski] texted me on the way in -- the one rule is don't drop the flag.”
"I'm going to squeeze the flag very hard. I want to watch this and be a part of it. … To be here is an awesome experience."
Lewis didn’t drop the flag. But he also didn’t see his friend and the reigning Spring Cup champion Keselowski win either.
Jimmie Johnson won the Great American Race, and Lewis celebrated with him on Victory Lane.
Lewis has a history with Keselowski. He left him a motivational voicemail before for his final Cup-clinching race at Homestead-Miami Speedway last year after finding out the driver watched Lewis’ speeches to pump him up. Keselowski went to a couple Ravens games and followed Lewis’ last ride.
"That's when me and him really started having conversations with each other, and from there it just turned into a friendship,” Lewis said.
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Quick Hits
Dannell Ellerbe is the “next focal point” after Flacco, says the linebacker’s agent, Hadley Engelhard. They met with Moriarty on Friday and had a “good meeting.” They are in a holding pattern waiting for the Flacco deal. [The Baltimore Sun]- Bill Polian ranks Ravens team needs as inside linebacker, nose tackle, then safety. [ESPN.com]
- Perhaps the draft’s top defensive tackle, Utah’s Star Lotulelei, sat out drills because a heart condition was detected. Could that send him down to the back of the first round? [NFL.com]
- Ravens 2013 offseason preview. [Sports Illustrated]
Matt Birk was a bird of a different feather. [CSNBaltimore]Ed Reed rocks the red carpet at the Oscars. [Gamedayr.com]
