Ray Lewis takes his rightful place among the top 25 players in NFL history
Ray Lewis takes his rightful place on a list of the best players in the NFL history.
More often than not, an NFL team's most famous player will be one playing on the offensive side of the ball, but this isn't the typical NFL city. The Baltimore Ravens were born out of Art Modell's decision to move the original Cleveland Browns to Maryland in 1996. It wasn't a popular move in Ohio, but B-more is most certainly thankful.
The franchise has won eight divisional championships, two AFC titles, and two Super Bowls. Ray Lewis is the only man walking who was a member of both championship-winning teams, and recently, he was named among some of the best players ever to lace up a pair of cleats.
Ray Lewis lands 14th on CBS Sports' top 25 players in NFL history
Bryan DeArdo recently tried his hand at crafting a list of the 25 greatest NFL players ever. The finished product was quite the masterpiece.
First in Ravens fans' hearts and 14th on DeArdo's list, Ray Lewis took his place among football's immortals. The entire list was stacked as follows:
These types of lists are always subjective. Sure, we can toss ideas back and forth about who should be ranked higher, but it's hard to argue any of those players off the ranking.
DeArdo mentions the following as his reasoning for placing Ray Lewis near the middle: "A throwback player, Lewis's intensity and mastery of his position led the Ravens to two Super Bowl titles. He was the best player on the Ravens' historically great 2000 defense that allowed just six points in three playoff games.
In 17 seasons, Lewis racked up over 2,000 tackles, 31 interceptions, 41.5 sacks, 19 forced fumbles, and 20 fumble recoveries." It's hard to argue with that logic or Ray's resume.
He's a two-time champion, Super Bowl 35's MVP, and a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He's a seven-time First-Team All-Pro, a three-time Second-Team All-Pro, and a 13-time Pro Bowler, and that isn't the half of it.
Three times, Lewis led the NFL in solo tackles and combined tackles. He's a member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, the 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, and the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor.
He's a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Seriously, what else needs to be said? If Ray isn't on this list, it must be thrown out entirely.
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