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Full Name: Ray Anthony Lewis Primary Position: LB
Height/Weight: 6' 1"/244 College: University of Miami
Birthdate: May 15, 1975 High School: Kathleen (Lakeland, FL)
Birthplace: Bartow, Florida
Pro Experience: 11 years

Biography[]

Ray Lewis re-signed with the Ravens on 8/1/03...Signed a renegotiated contract with Baltimore on 7/21/02...Signed a renegotiated contract with Baltimore on 2/27/01...Signed a renegotiated contract with the Ravens on 11/20/98...Signed a renegotiated deal with Baltimore on 8/25/97...Was Baltimore’s 2nd pick in the 1st round (26th overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft (after Jonathan Ogden was selected with the 4th overall choice in that draft)....Ravens obtained the 26th pick from San Francisco in a 1995 draft-day trade...Was the 4th LB selected overall in the draft (Kevin Hardy - 2nd overall by Jacksonville, John Mobley - 15th overall by Denver and Reggie Brown - 17th overall by Detroit).

Eight-time Pro Bowler, 2-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl XXXV MVP, who continues to cement his legacy as the greatest LB and one of the best players in NFL history…Earned his 8th Pro Bowl nod in 2006 after an injury to Broncos LB Al Wilson, but Lewis could not play due to a hand injury, giving way to teammate Bart Scott, who earned his 1st-career Pro Bowl...Started 14 games (missing 2 with a back injury) and led the team for the 9th time in his career with 164 tackles (9th 100-tackle season), 9 PD, 5 sacks (-36.5 yards), 2 INTs, 1 FF and 1 FR...Led the NFL’s No.1-rated defense in tackles in 9 games...Lewis started 6 games in 2005 before a hamstring injury and subsequent surgery ended his season...Was on pace for a superior year in 2005, posting 77 tackles (on pace for 205 tackles) before the injury...Started 15 games in 2004 (missing 1 due to a broken wrist)...Earned 2nd-straight Pro Bowl berth as he led the team (8th time in his career) with 200 tackles (3rd 200-tackle season), including 122 solo, 1 sack, 3 PD, 2 FRs and 1 FF in 2004...Also named 1st-team All Pro by the AP, 2nd-team All Pro by College and Pro Football Weekly and Football Digest and All Pro by the Sporting News in 2004...Earned 2003 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors for the 2nd time (2000), becoming just the 6th player in NFL history to win multiple times (Lawrence Taylor – 3 times, Joe Greene, Mike Singletary, Bruce Smith and Reggie White – 2 times each)...Was the leading vote-getter (49 of 50) when he earned 1st-team AP All-Pro honors...Also earned Pro Football Weekly, PFWA and Football Digest Defensive MVP honors...Was named to Dr. Z’s Sports Illustrated All-Pro team, Pro Football Weekly’s All-NFL team, Pro Football Weekly’s All-AFC team, Football Digest’s All-Pro 1st-team, the Sporting News’ All-Pro team and received the KC 101 AFC Defensive Player of the Year award for the 3rd time...Lewis and DE Bruce Smith are the only players to win the award 3 times...Finished the season with a franchise-record 225 tackles in 2003…Also recorded 13 PD, led all NFL LBs with 6 INTs and added 1.5 sacks, 2 FFs and 2 FR in the regular season...Lewis also led the team with 18 tackles in the postseason...Lewis has led the NFL in tackles 4 times (1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003)...In June 2003, Ray was voted the NFL’s most dominant player by NFL head coaches (CBS Sportsline)...He received 10 votes and no other player received more than 2...Was limited to only 5 games in 2002 due to a shoulder injury...Still managed to rank 5th on the team with 85 tackles in those 5 games...Also posted 2 INTs, 2 PD, 1 FF and 1 FR in 2002...Earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors week 3 vs. Denver after posting 20 tackles (12 solo), 2 PD and an INT on Monday Night Football...Ray earned his 5th consecutive Pro Bowl in 2001 when he led the NFL in tackles (196)...Ray earned 1st-team All-Pro honors in 2001...He was the 2nd player in NFL history to win both NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP (2000)...DT Harvey Martin of Dallas won Defensive Player of the Year in 1977 and was co-MVP of Super Bowl XXII with DT Randy White...Pro Bowl starter and 1st-team All-Pro while leading the Ravens to the Super Bowl - all at age 25...The emotional and physical leader of the Ravens, Lewis was voted to his 4th straight Pro Bowl in 2000 and again led the team in tackles (187)...Named a unanimous All-Pro...In 2000, led a defense that set a 16-game single-season record for fewest points allowed (165), set the 16-game record for fewest rushing yards allowed (970), recorded 4 shutouts, 1 shy of the post-1970 merger record, and finished 1st league-wide in 6 key defensive categories...Led all NFL tacklers in 2000 postseason with 31 (44 after coaches video review)...In 1999, he was credited with 198 tackles (131 solo) by Ravens coaches, 167 total tackles according to NFL play-by-plays, which led all NFL tacklers (Tampa Bay’s Derrick Brooks was 2nd with 153)...Ray made his 2nd trip to the Pro Bowl following the 1998 season after leading the Ravens for the 3rd straight year with 154 tackles...Also tabbed for The Sporting News All-Pro Team...Won the John Mackey Award in June of ‘97, as voted by his peers, as the AFC’s best LB...In his 2nd NFL season, Ray served as the “veteran” leader of the Ravens’ young linebacking corps in 1997, which consisted of Lewis and 5 rookies...Selected as the “needs” player for the victorious AFC squad in the 1997 Pro Bowl after leading the NFL with 210 tackles, 68 more than his team-leading total in 1996...Stepped into the starting MLB role in his rookie season at age 21 and earned USA Today’s All-Rookie team honors after leading the Ravens with 142 tackles.

College Career: Three-year starter at Miami who came out after his junior season...Consensus All-American and runner-up for the Butkus Award...Finished 5th on Miami’s all-time tackles chart with 388 career stops, including 19 TFL and 6 sacks...Led the Hurricanes in tackles for 22 consecutive games and led the Big East Conference in tackles for 2 straight seasons...Finished junior season (1995) with a team-high 160 tackles and earned consensus 1st-team All-America and All-Big East honors...Member of Playboy All-America team...Tackle total was 2nd in Hurricane history (since Ed Weisacosky’s 164 in 1965)...Started every game at MLB as a sophomore (1994), earning 1st-team All-Big East honors, and 1st-team All-America honors from The Poor Man’s Guide to the NFL Draft and Football News...Led team with 152 tackles, including 9 TFL and 2 sacks...Played his way into the starting lineup as a freshman (1993), starting the final 5 games...Totaled 81 tackles, 2 TFL, 4 PD and 2 sacks...Earned Freshman All-America honors by The Gridiron Report...Team MVP in both junior and senior seasons at Kathleen (Lakeland, FL) HS...Played LB, RB and returned KOs and punts...Recorded 207 tackles with 10 sacks, 5 FRs and 8 INTs (3 for TDs) in HS...Returned 4 punts and 2 KORs for TDs...Rushed for 591 yards and scored 8 TDs as a RB...Blocked 3 FGs as a senior and 3 FGs and 2 PATs as a junior...Was the State 4A Wrestling Champ in the 189 lb. weight class...Enjoys fishing, camping, swimming and basketball ...Majored in Arts and Sciences.

Ray has a website, RayLewis52.com...Spoke to the NFL rookies in June 2000 at the NFL’s Rookie Symposium about the need to be careful about associations and circumstances...A parade and day in Ray’s honor was held in his hometown of Lakeland, FL on 4/14/01...Ray contributed money to help with the remodeling of The Greater Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Lakeland... Participated in the Snapple Superstars competition in May 2001...Ray hosted Super Bowl Parties for the children at the Baltimore Ravens Courage House at St. Vincent’s in Feb. 2000...In Dec. 2000, Ray teamed up with radio stations 92Q and Magic 95.9 to ask Ravens fans and members of the Baltimore community to help him with his Holiday Toy Drive...Ray donated the toys to the Cherry Hill Housing Authority, the Baltimore City Department of Social Services and the Bradford Reading Program in Sandtown, MD...Ray also adopted 10 families in Baltimore City communities for the holidays and answered their Christmas wish lists...Ray’s 3rd annual celebrity auction and bowling tournament, held in May 2004, raised $230,000 for the Ray Lewis Foundation, which helps provide assistance to disadvantaged youth...Has hosted the Great Maryland Duck Derby the last 5 years, where 20,000 “adopted” rubber ducks are dropped in the water and raced for prizes, with all proceeds going to the Ray Lewis Foundation...On May 2, 2003, Ray Lewis gave $3,000 scholarships to 2 students from his alma mater, Kathleen HS....Ray provided new computers and online connectivity to Simpson Community Center in Lakeland, FL in 2002...Ray donates a tractor-trailer load of food and personal care boxes annually to 440 of Baltimore’s neediest families to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal in the privacy of their homes...Each family receives a 12-14 lb. turkey, a box weighing about 26 lbs. containing canned and non–perishable food items, a box weighing about 15 lbs. containing personal care and hygiene items and Girl Scout cookies...During the season, Ray annually provides 52 home game tickets to various nonprofit organizations in Baltimore city...Lewis also hosts an annual Back-to-School Kickoff Event in Sept....Along with Office Depot and Frito Lay, the Ray Lewis Foundation provides 1,200 Baltimore city students with a free bookbag, school supplies and snacks...Teamed up with the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland to host the Holiday Gift Marketplace in Dec...Over 200 youth in Baltimore were allowed to choose a gift for themselves and another for a loved one for the holidays, imparting the “gift of giving”... Lewis established a relationship with Van Brooks, a former high school football player who suffered a severe spinal cord injury during a game in Sept. 2004...Ray helped raise funds for Brooks’ recovery effort, visited the young man in the hospital and continues to speak with him often...Once again, provided 52 tickets to Baltimore area nonprofit organizations for home games throughout the season...Opened the Ray Lewis Full Moon Bar-B-Que located in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood in Feb. 2005...Named a finalist for the Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award, given to an NFL player who exemplifies dedication to team, community and country...Ray kept a promise to his mother, which he made when he left the University of Miami after his junior year, by graduating from the University of Maryland University College on May 15, 2004...Not only did Ray finish the 24 credits he had remaining to earn his degree in business administration, but he was on the dean’s list for most of the time he was enrolled...Has hosted his annual Rays Summer Days 3 straight years, with funds benefiting his foundation; Events include a 5K run/walk, community festival, comedy jam, golf outing, bowling and receptions...Ray joined with Hall of Fame RB Gale Sayers and entrepreneur Mark Bloomquist to form S&L Racing, which races both cars and trucks...The team is headquartered in North Carolina, and already races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series...Lewis was also honored with a JB award (named in honor of CBS broadcaster James Brown) during the 2006 offseason: Received the “Act of Kindness” Award for his tireless work in the community...Lewis and Paralympic Gold Medalist Cheri Blauwet joined with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) to support and advise the creation of a new Sports for Life program in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia...The pair traveled to the war-torn region in March 2006 to deliver wheelchairs, crutches and orthopedic devices to patients…They also consulted with therapists and social workers about possible beneficial uses for sports and recreation…Lewis has been involved in pressing political (spoke to congress in June 2006), business and philanthropic leaders for a stronger commitment to disability sport both here and in the developing world…Ray also joined teammates for an Evening Ringside to benefit the Jonathan Ogden Foundation in October 2006…Full name: Ray Anthony Lewis.

Scouting Report[]

Statistics[]

Sack/Safety Stats[]

year team league games SK SFY
1996 BAL NFL 14 2.5 0
1997 BAL NFL 16 4 0
1998 BAL NFL 14 3 0
1999 BAL NFL 16 3.5 0
2000 BAL NFL 16 3 0
2001 BAL NFL 16 3.5 0
2002 BAL NFL 5 0 0
2003 BAL NFL 16 1.5 0
2004 BAL NFL 15 1 0
2005 BAL NFL 7 1 0
2006 BAL NFL 14 5 0
11 year NFL career 149 28 0

Interception Stats[]

year team league games INT YDS LNG TD
1996 BAL NFL 14 1 0 0 0
1997 BAL NFL 16 1 18 18 0
1998 BAL NFL 14 2 25 26 0
1999 BAL NFL 16 3 97 60 0
2000 BAL NFL 16 2 1 1 0
2001 BAL NFL 16 3 115 64 0
2002 BAL NFL 5 2 4 4 0
2003 BAL NFL 16 6 99 37 1
2004 BAL NFL 15 0 0 0 0
2005 BAL NFL 7 1 0 0 0
2006 BAL NFL 14 2 27 27 0
11 year NFL career 149 23 386 0 1

Fumble Recovery Stats[]

year team league games TOT OWR OPR YDS TD
1996 BAL NFL 14 0 0 0 0 0
1997 BAL NFL 16 0 1 0 0 0
1998 BAL NFL 14 0 0 0 0 0
1999 BAL NFL 16 1 0 0 0 0
2000 BAL NFL 16 0 0 3 0 0
2001 BAL NFL 16 0 0 1 0 0
2002 BAL NFL 5 0 0 1 0 0
2003 BAL NFL 16 0 0 2 1 0
2004 BAL NFL 15 0 0 2 0 0
2005 BAL NFL 7 0 0 0 0 0
2006 BAL NFL 14 0 0 0 0 0
11 year NFL career 149 1 1 9 1 0

Trivia[]

See also[]

Awards[]

  • Won the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003
  • Won the Super Bowl MVP in 2000
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