Ravens Jersey Number to Retire

If I asked you which franchises had zero jersey numbers retired, you would assume that most of the teams on the list were new expansion teams. Many of them are, like Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Houston. But other teams on the list were shocking to me, with the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys also having no retired numbers.

Here is the list of retired numbers by team.

Some of those teams have many obvious selections, as do the Baltimore Ravens. Iconic Ravens Linebacker Ray Lewis retired two years ago following his second Lombardi trophy, and has yet to have his number retired despite being beloved in the confines of the state of Maryland. There is a statue of his likeness outside M&T Bank Stadium, so it is surprising the number 52 has not officially been retired.

I know that I never want to see anyone else wear the number 52. I am not sure anyone else can do it justice at this point. Even C.J. Mosley with all his promise and potential, I would not want wearing Ray's number.

There are other numbers that should be retired, like #20 and #75. Maybe #27 should be unofficially banned for other reasons. But there is one number that should never be donned in a game, and that is #52. Ray's impact on the game an on our team, the Ravens, goes beyond football. This is one of the greatest players of all time, the team's leader for almost 2 decades, and an iconic figure who had the respect of every player he competed against.

#52 should be added to the list above. And I hope it happens soon!