Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

As many of you know, the EA Sports video game Madden NFL holds a fan vote to determine which players will grace its cover each year(at least for the last few years anyway). This year, they had decided to do one legendary figure and one current player from each team. The Ravens were represented by Ray Lewis and Ray Rice.

Lewis and Rice both easily won their opening rounds and then narrowly escaped their second round, but they hit a brick wall against Barry Sanders and Robert Griffen III respectively. Both players lost by about 30% of the vote. That means that the Ravens wont have a player on the Madden cover.

I am not particularly broken up over this. Ray Lewis graced the cover once, so the Ravens do have representation in the game, but As far as which player wins out each year, I dont really pay much attention to it. It would be pretty awesome to have Ray Lewis on the cover again, but with Rice, I am not so sure I want to tempt the Madden curse and the super bowl hangover curse at the same time. It just doesn’t sound like the recipe for success.

With both Ravens off the table, I think I will be voting for Barry Sanders to make it.

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk (77) holds his son on his shoulders after winning Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

An era is officially over in baltimore. Ray Lewis is 100% retired. Ray hit the reserved/retired list today, his time with the Ravens finally coming to an end.

Obviously Ray isnt surprising anyone by retiring at this point, but the fact that he is officially on the list is noteworthy. The only real question left to be answered is whether or not Ray will have an official retirement press conference. He probably wont, but news in the NFL is about to dry up big time once the free agency rush is over and there is always the potential for someone to try and create some news by encouraging a retirement presser for Ray. We all know He doesn’t generally back away from the spotlight.  We are also still waiting on the official word of Ray Lewis being on ESPN sunday and monday night countdown this fall. We have already had the president of ESPN confirm the rumors, but no one has signed a contract yet so it isn’t over until its over.

Matt Birk also hit the list today, his retirement was suspected, but wasn’t confirmed until last week when he made it official in a retirement presser. Birk, like Lewis, leaves a big hole to fill on the roster for the Ravens. They drafted Gino Gradkowski to be Birks’ eventual replacement, but we dont have a definitive idea of whether or not he is ready to be a full time starter at, what some would argue, is the most important non-QB role in the game. Lewis might be leaving a bigger hole because the Ravens are so thin at ILB right now. Their top player, Dannell Ellerbe, is a free agent and their next man, Jameel McClain, is still recovering from a serious spinal injury that ended his 2012 season early. behind that, the Ravens don’t have much to speak of.

The good news is that these two mover will save close to 7 million in cap room(6.65), That in addition to the news that the Cap will be raised by 1.5 million to 123 million this year gives the Ravens a total of 8.1 million in cap savings today. not to shabby, even if you did lose a couple of hall of famers in the process.

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed (20) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been less than a month since the Ravens brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Baltimore and already it’s time for the front office to make some critical personnel decisions for the 2013 season. Much of the bandwidth to this point has been consumed with discussions on Flacco’s impending deal. To be sure, re-signing the Super Bowl MVP is an important concern for the team, but based on comments from Ravens’ executives, the decision is not “if”, but “how much.” This is indeed an important consideration because how the team keeps Joe in a Ravens jersey will greatly affect how much cash they will have to retain other free agents.

Bubbling slightly below the surface of the Flacco negotiation is concern over Ed Reed’s future with the squad. The future hall of famer became an unrestricted free agent after that glorious win in New Orleans and rumors are aflutter that the ace might be lured out of Charm City by the cash recently freed up in New England after Tom Brady’s new deal was inked.

This is not an impossible proposition, but I think it is unlikely for a few reasons.

First, regardless of the positive sentiments flowing between Reed and Belichick, the Patriots have more urgent needs. While the Patriots certainly need to focus on their secondary, Talib’s free agency and Dennard’s legal issues make the cornerback spot their chief concern. Also, the Patriots will have to use a large part of that new-found cap space to ensure they can keep some quality receivers around their bargain quarterback.

Next, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the Ravens and Flacco arrive at a deal that offers the squad the ability to retain at least some of the weapons that allowed Joe to shine. Despite the rhetoric, Joe knows that he needs the Ravens as much as they need him.

And finally, Ed Reed has hinted at retirement after the last few seasons and all signs point to the fact that he wants to retire as a Raven (and that the Ravens would love for him to do so). I do not think that it is serendipity that led to Reed’s return for another season. Indeed, to end a Canton-esque career under the shadow of legendary Ray Lewis would have been a slight to both Ray Ray and Ed.

Therefore, I am hopeful that we will see #20 back on the field in a Ravens jersey next season. In addition to providing leadership on the defensive side of the ball, creating excitement for fans and fear for opposing quarterbacks, Ed’s return will reduce the pressure on front office personnel to find another safety. This will provide time for Omar Brown to further develop (an exciting player in his own right), and allow the Ravens to focus their limited cap space and draft picks on far greater needs – linebackers, offensive linemen, and receivers.