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According to The Big Lead, legendary former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is out at ESPN. Since retiring from the league, Lewis has worked as part of ESPN's broadcast team for their Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Football and NFL Draft programming.
ESPN's NFL coverage will look rather different next season. In addition to Lewis, Cris Carter and former Ravens championship quarterback Trent Dilfer are also through at the network. Mike Ditka will reportedly be taking a step back, but remaining at ESPN in some capacity. In their stead, former players Randy Moss, Matt Hasselbeck and Charles Woodson will all be joining the network as analysts.
Reviews of Ray Lewis as a television personality were mixed. Lewis brought great insight to the booth and his fiery demeanor added life to the often monotonous broadcasts. But Lewis struggled at times to eloquently communicate his thoughts and was occasionally sidetracked onto tangents that did not directly relate to the topic at hand.
Lewis now joins Cal Ripken Jr. as the greatest Baltimore sports players of their generation who underwhelmed on the air. It remains to be seen if Lewis will seek out broadcasting employment with one of the competing networks. Maybe this move will open the door for Ray Lewis to join John Harbaugh's coaching staff?