McGahee for Lewis not a bad tradeoff for Ravens

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, March 08, 2007  |  Comments( 13 )

Baltimore Ravens
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You wonder why they call it "free agency." Especially when the Baltimore Ravens just signed RB Willis McGahee to a deal that could wind up costing as much as $40 million (although $25 million is closer to reality). Of that, $15 million is guaranteed.

To paraphrase former Speaker of the House Everett Dirksen, "A million here, and a million there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money."

They pumped up the volume again this week for the annual NFL game of musical chairs, and when the music stopped, McGahee was a Raven (in exchange for third- and seventh-round draft picks this year and a third-rounder next year to Buffalo) and former Raven Jamal Lewis was a Brown. The Bills had virtually no running backs but were looking at Tennessee's Chris Brown and Dominic Rhodes of Indianapolis.

So is this a good thing or a bad thing for the Ravens?

On paper, the chair-shifting looks like a wash. McGahee rushed for 990 yards (a 3.8 average) and six touchdowns for Buffalo last season. Lewis' numbers with the Ravens were markedly similar -- 1,132 yards, 3.6 a carry, nine touchdowns. McGahee is 25, Lewis 27 (although it seems he's been in the NFL forever).

So could this be simply a matter of change for the sake of change? Or were the Ravens' bosses, like savvy politicians, keeping an eye on the polls? According to Ravens beat writer Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun, nearly 75 percent of his readers responded to the question "Should the Ravens get rid of Jamal Lewis?" with "Yes."

Cleveland, on the other hand, remembers the day in 2003 when Lewis ran around, over and through the Browns' defense for an NFL-record 295 yards. He gained over 2,000 that year, a once-in-a-lifetime season.

Which is precisely the point for Baltimore. Hey, Jamal, that was great and all, but those 2,000 yards were so ... 2003.

Lewis' jail sentence on a drug-dealing conviction may not have endeared him to some Baltimore fans, either.

McGahee, on the other hand, comes with some injury baggage, but he has shown surprising durability. Since sitting out 2003 to rehab a severe knee injury suffered at Miami (and, perhaps, watching on TV as Lewis had his breakout season), McGahee played in all 16 games in 2004 and 2005 and 14 last season.

Without question, the Ravens' new featured back is a step or two quicker than the old one.

"We're getting a dynamic back who has the potential to diversify our running game," said Baltimore coach Brian Billick.

And, perhaps, the passing game, as well. Lewis and McGahee both caught 18 passes in 2006, but McGahee averaged 8.7 yards per reception, Lewis 6.4. McGahee's longest reception covered 56 yards, Lewis had a top grab of 15.

It remains to be seen what this deal means for backup RB Mike Anderson, especially since the Ravens have re-signed Musa Smith.

The music is getting ready to start up again.
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CommentsComments: 13  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Eddie		07:57 AM
03/09/2007
Due to the overwhelming resonse to your write up, I'm assuming that most people in Baltimore are yawning with this trade. I for ...
No.2
Amir FaSaad		08:57 AM
03/09/2007
Watchout for Mcgahee ! You give a guy his whole rookie season to rehab, that , plus Millions of $$$, and what does he do for the ...
No.3
Mike T.		03:49 PM
03/09/2007
I am a Bill's fan but I've always respected Ozzie and his player evaluation skills. This trade is a major risk for the Ravens. ...
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