Peyton Manning came closer than most people knew to wearing purple.
Ray Lewis said on the PBD Podcast that he was “literally 30 seconds away from Peyton Manning saying yes to come to Baltimore.” Lewis said the two were in Hawaii at one of their shared Pro Bowls, talking at the bar for hours, and that he kept pushing the idea hard. “look, if I put you on one side, you leave me on the other side, and me and you go at this thing together…” Lewis recalled saying.
“I sold him, I sold him, I sold him, I sold him. Then at the last minute, he ended up staying home.”
The timing is part of the intrigue. Lewis’ comments point to one of the Pro Bowls the two shared in Hawaii, and there are a few possibilities in play.
Manning’s rookie contract with the Colts made the 2000 and 2001 games impossible, which leaves 2004 as a strong candidate. Indianapolis had tagged him that offseason before he signed a seven-year, $98 million extension.
The 2010 Pro Bowl is also possible, though less likely with the Ravens having taken Joe Flacco in the first round two years earlier.
Baltimore Beatdown had already devoted a July bracket to players who nearly became Ravens, and Manning might have just moved to the top of that list. It’s not hard to see why.
Pairing Manning with the Ravens’ defense from that era would have been absurd in the best way, with Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Adalius Thomas, and current defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver all in the mix, plus Jamal Lewis fresh off his 2,000-yard season. That group could have been something bigger than good.
It could have been a dynasty.
Elsewhere around the Ravens’ orbit, there was movement involving a familiar name. The New York Giants are trading guard Daniel Faalele to the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to a source cited by Big Blue View on Wednesday morning. The return is a sixth-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Faalele spent the last two seasons starting at right guard for Baltimore, when John Harbaugh was the Ravens’ coach. The Giants had signed him to a one-year deal before the 2026 NFL Draft and then used that draft to select Francis ‘Sisi’ Mauigoa, who is set to play right guard.
Faalele had been working as a backup at both guard spots through the spring and summer, with the expectation that he would serve as the swing guard. In Saturday’s preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, Pro Football Focus gave him a 0.0 pass blocking grade and a 40.2 overall score on 13 snaps.
The Ravens also drew positive attention at joint practice with the Vikings. During the session, Marlon Humphrey jumped a Kyler Murray throw for a near interception, and Nate Wiggins broke up another pass intended for Jordan Addison. Alec Lewis of The Athletic wrote that the passing game “felt a bit off during its first true test against another defense…”
Lewis also noted how Baltimore’s defense kept leaning on pressure looks, especially with defenders crowding the line of scrimmage. The Ravens countered with blitzes of their own, including safety Kyle Hamilton.
Early in an 11-on-11 period, Murray rolled out on a bootleg and Hamilton raced into his face, forcing him to throw the ball into the ground. Pressure, Lewis wrote, appeared to affect Murray’s accuracy during the first two team periods.
In Other News...
Ravens Center Battle Just Took A Concerning Turn For Lamar Jackson
The Ravens competition to replace Tyler Linderbaum at center hit an uneasy pause Thursday when Danny Pinter left a joint practice with the Vikings on a cart after suffering an injury. Pinter had been one of the players working to steady that spot for Baltimore, a role that matters plenty for an offense built around Lamar Jacksons timing, protection and pre-snap flexibility.
For now, the team is waiting on further testing to learn just how serious the issue is and what it means for Pinters availability. Even without a final answer, the timing alone adds stress to a position battle that was already worth watching closely, because Baltimore needs clarity in the middle before the season begins to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Turn Two Familiar Starting Jobs Into Critical Camp Battles
The Ravens offseason reset has already shown up in a couple of the most important spots on the field. After the coaching staff overhaul and roster moves that brought in Trey Hendrickson and locked up Zay Flowers, training camp has become less about sorting through star power and more about proving who can actually hold down jobs. Two familiar starting roles have turned into real competitions, and that fits the tone of this new staff, which has made clear that reputation only goes so far.
At weakside linebacker and at center, the pressure is on players who were expected to be part of the solution rather than the question. Baltimore has Trenton Simpson in a fight for snaps as the defense looks for faster processing at the position, while the interior line battle has put Danny Pinter in the crosshairs as the Ravens search for steadier play in the middle. In both cases, the message is the same: the new staff wants dependable answers, and the preseason is giving them a chance to see which options hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Tight End Depth Suddenly Has A Name Fans Need To Watch
The Ravens tight end room looked a little different after last years Mark Andrews extension, and the ripple effects were felt when Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar both moved on in free agency. That left Baltimore with a fresh chance to identify the next pass-catching option behind Andrews, and rookie Matthew Hibner quickly put his name into the conversation during his first preseason action.
Hibner has already shown the kind of early polish that can earn a young tight end a real role in this offense, especially with the Ravens always valuing depth at the position. His debut was strong enough to turn heads inside the league, and if he keeps stacking practices and preseason reps, Baltimore may have found a player who can grow from rotational piece into a long-term contributor. [Read more 🡒]