Ray Lewis Trains At MMA Blackzilian Camp
Ray Lewis was known for his intense workouts throughout his 17-year NFL career.
Retirement and nearing the age of 40 isn't changing his routine.
Lewis was spotted training with The Blackzilians, a professional mixed martial arts team, who train together at the JACO Hybrid Training Center in Delray Beach, Florida. Lewis resides in the Sunshine state, making the visit a convenient one.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort (pictured above in red) posted this photo to Instagram, which includes trainer Henri Hooft, Belfort Lewis and coach Kenny Monday, an Olympic gold medalist. Lewis was seen hitting pads with Hooft.
"surrounded by greatness," tweeted UFC fighter Abel Trujillo.
This brings back memories when rumors swirled in 2008 that Lewis was going to sign with the UFC. But UFC President Dana White quickly shot that down saying, "Believe me, if Ray Lewis was going to sign in the UFC, I'd be aware of it...No it's not true. It's the first I've heard of it. It’s a bull[crap] story."
Lewis has a background in* *wrestling. He competed in the 1992 Florida 4A high school wrestling state championship for the 189-pound weight class … and he LOST.
The YouTube video below shows Lewis' match, which starts in the third period against John Acona. Lewis looks a bit winded by this point, and barely lost the match 6-5.
Check it out. (Mobile users tap "View in Browser" at the top of the page.)
Ravens Salary Cap Update
With Terrell Suggs' contract extension freeing up $4.6 million in salary cap space, ESPN's Jamison Hensley gives the latest cap update for the Ravens.
The franchise is now $15.9 million under the spending limit, per Hensley, with the top-10 earners being:
Haloti Ngata: $16 million
Joe Flacco: $14.8M
Lardarius Webb: $10.5M
Ray Rice: $8.75 million
Marshal Yanda: $8.45M
Terrell Suggs: $7.8M
Jameel McClain: $4.4M
Elvis Dumervil: $3.3M
Chris Canty: $3.1M
Sam Koch: $2.8M
2014 Projected Franchise Tag Numbers
Below are the projected franchise tag numbers per position based on a $126.3 million cap projection and a $128 million projection, according to CBSSports.com. Both have been rumored to be the final number.
In case you've been living under a rock, the Ravens are expected to tag tight end Dennis Pitta if they can't agree to a long-term deal, but he could file a grievance to be paid the wide receiver tag number, per multiple reports, a difference of nearly $5 million dollars.
Only one grievance over a franchise tag has been filed, according to CBSSports.com's Joel Corry. And that just happened to be from Terrell Suggs.
"In 2008, the Baltimore Ravens' Terrell Suggs challenged his franchise player designation as a linebacker by contending he had more playing time as a defensive end," wrote Corry. "The Ravens and Suggs settled the dispute without establishing a precedent by agreeing to use the average of the defensive end and linebacker franchise tags."
| 2014 PROJECTED FRANCHISE NUMBERS | ||||||||
| POSITION | $126.3 MILLION | $128 MILLION | SALARY CAP PERCENTAGE | |||||
| Cornerback | $11,238,000 | $11,389,000 | 8.9 percent | |||||
| Defensive end | $12,455,000 | $12,623,000 | 9.86 percent | |||||
| Defensive tackle | $9,168,000 | $9,291,000 | 7.26 percent | |||||
| Linebacker | $10,878,000 | $11,024,000 | 8.61percent | |||||
| Offensive line | $11,109,000 | $11,258,000 | 8.8 percent | |||||
| Punter/Kicker | $3,377,000 | $3,423,000 | 2.67 percent | |||||
| Quarterback | $16,060,000 | $16,276,000 | 8.61 percent | |||||
| Running back | $9,060,000 | $9,182,000 | 7.17 percent | |||||
| Safety | $8,008,000 | $8,116,000 | 6.34 percent | |||||
| Tight end | $6,698,000 | $6,788,000 | 5.3 percent | |||||
| Wide Receiver | $11,520,000 | $11,675,000 | 9.12 percent | |||||
Rice Spoke With Harbaugh About Arrest
It was "extremely surprising" to The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec that running back Ray Rice hadn't spoken to General Manager Ozzie Newsome or another high-ranking official* *regarding his arrest about 60 hours after it occurred Friday night.
But it turns out that Rice had already spoken to Head Coach John Harbaugh about the incident Monday morning. Rice gave him an explanation about what happened prior to the press conference that announced Terrell Suggs' contract extension, according to The Sun's Aaron Wilson.
At that presser, Newsome said he personally hadn't spoken to Rice.
"I really don't know that situation," Newsome said. "With me, I get all the answers. Then that's when we make decisions within this organization, once we get all the information we can get."
Quick Hits
- @TorreySmithWR: It's official! Tix on sale for my 4th Charity Basketball Game March 29. $15 in advance, $20 at the door.#BattleoftheBeltway #ravens #redskins [Instagram]
- @RavensInsider: Mike Mayock mentioned Notre Dame offensive lineman Zack Martin as a potentially good fit for the Ravens' first-round pick [Twitter]
- @RavensInsider: Mike Mayock says he'd be surprised if Eric Ebron is still there for Ravens' first-round pick [Twitter]
- @sportswcoleman: Breaking @CBS just made a BIG change on the #NFL Today. Hired Tony Gonzalez while reportedly Marino and Sharpe are no longer on show. Wow [Twitter]
- @TerezOwens: First Female Running Back in History Gets Destroyed [Twitter]
- Here's a great story about the father of our colleague and Ravens Director of Media Relations Chad Steele (@CSteele32). Chad's sister, Sage, works for ESPN and used to cover the Ravens for CSN. … @SportsCenter: Gary Steele became 1st African-American to play varsity football at West Point. @sagesteele on her father's legacy. [Twitter | ESPN]
