2021 will be the 26th season in the history of the Baltimore Ravens. In that brief time, the franchise has made an indelible mark on NFL history.
Eight Pro Football Hall of Famers have been associated with the team in one way or another, and a ninth — Steve Smith — could come as soon as next year. Two Hall of Famers — Ray Lewis, and Jonathan Ogden — spent their entire playing careers with the Ravens.
A surprising number of pro football legends have passed through the Ravens’ doors toward the end of their careers, some of whom are more famous for their time in other jerseys.
Two such players — Rod Woodson and Shannon Sharpe — were instrumental in the 2000 team’s Super Bowl win. While not all of the players on this list are guaranteed to be bound for Canton, all of them made a splash in the NFL before they came to Baltimore.
1. Deion Sanders, CB, Ravens (2004-05)
Deion Sanders surprised and confused the football world when he broke a three-year retirement to sign with the Baltimore Ravens just before the 2004 season.
He did so under the advice of Ray Lewis and defensive back Corey Fuller, who remain close personal friends of his.
His time with the Ravens sticks out like a sore thumb. For the previous 12 seasons of his NFL career, Prime Time wore the number 21.
With the Ravens, he wore 37, a number he chose himself as a reference to his age at the time of signing. No. 21 was out of reach anyway, as fellow defensive back Chris McAlister had worn that number since 2000.
Over his two seasons in Baltimore, Sanders recorded five interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. The Ravens missed the playoffs in both seasons, and Sanders retired once and for all after 2005.
His brief stint in Baltimore served only to delay his own Hall of Fame induction, which finally took place in 2011.
2. Randall Cunningham, QB, Ravens (2001)
Until the coming of Joe Flacco, the first decade of the Ravens’ existence was a never-ending quarterback carousel. Not even a Super Bowl victory could stop it from turning as Trent Dilfer found himself out of a job despite a decent performance against the Giants in Tampa.
While Elvis Grbac was ultimately saddled with the responsibility of (unsuccessfully) defending the Ravens’ crown, he wasn’t the only option they considered in 2001.
During the offseason, the Ravens also signed 38-year-old free agent Randall Cunningham, reuniting him with head coach Brian Billick.
Three years earlier, Cunningham was the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, where Billick served as offensive coordinator.
Together, the two created one of the most electrifying offenses in NFL history, one that scored a then-record 556 points in the regular season.
In heartbreaking fashion, the Vikings lost that year’s NFC Championship Game to Atlanta in overtime, but their success that season catapulted Billick to the Ravens’ head coaching job.
2001 would be Cunningham’s last year in the NFL. He started — and won — two games in place of Grbac, both nail-biting finishes in the middle of the season. Overall, he threw for 573 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in his five appearances.
3. Ricky Williams, RB, Ravens (2011)
When the name Ricky Williams is brought up, two things usually come to mind: marijuana and that infamous ESPN Magazine cover where he posed in a bridal gown alongside Mike Ditka.
It’s easy to forget sometimes that Williams was a darn good running back in his prime, even winning the NFL rushing title in 2002. In the past few years, he’d made more headlines for off-field controversy than on-field heroics.
He unexpectedly retired from the NFL before the 2004 season to study holistic medicine, un-retired the following year, then missed the entire 2006 season for (surprise) violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.
After spending that year with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, he returned to the Dolphins in 2007 only to suffer a season-ending injury in his first game back.
More from Ebony Bird
- Will Baltimore Ravens be rewarded for risky Lamar Jackson decision?
- The Baltimore Ravens Big Gamble
- Ravens Super Bowl odds present fascinating insight on Lamar Jackson’s future
- Should Baltimore Ravens be interested in this recently released WR
- Do the Baltimore Ravens have serious interest in this free agent wide out?
By 2011, Williams was undoubtedly past his prime. Still, the Baltimore Ravens were willing to take a chance.
For that season, he served as both a backup and mentor to the team’s young and flashy starting ball-carrier, Ray Rice, who picked up 1,364 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry.
Williams wasn’t quite as productive, with 444 yards and two touchdowns on 4.1 yards per carry. However, he did manage to top the 10,000 career rushing yards mark, finishing with 10,009 yards overall.
As with Cunningham, Williams’ lone season with the Ravens would be his last. In a cruel twist of fate, one year after his second NFL retirement, the Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII.
Had he held on for one more year, Williams could have hoisted his first and only Lombardi Trophy at the Superdome in New Orleans. Instead, according to CBS Sports, he was working as a cameraman that night.
4. Earnest Byner, RB, Ravens (1996-97)
Here’s a flashback to the “Memorial Stadium” era of Ravens football — back when it felt great just having NFL football back in Baltimore. Sure, it was usually losing football, but it was certainly better than nothing.
Earnest Byner was one of the very original Ravens class of 1996 who came on the moving van from Cleveland.
Or, as the NFL would have you believe, when the original Cleveland Browns magically ceased to exist and the majority of their players and staff materialized in Baltimore to form the basis of the Ravens “expansion team” (yeah, that’s the ticket).
Indeed, Byner’s most famous pro highlights came while he wore a Browns uniform, mainly in the late 1980s. This, unfortunately, includes his most famous moment — his playoff fumble in the 1988 AFC Championship Game against Denver which cost Cleveland their last shot at victory.
Byner returned to the Browns for their last two seasons of existence and moved with the team to Baltimore. Between those two stints, he redeemed himself by winning a Super Bowl with Washington in 1991.
As for his time in Baltimore? Over his two seasons with the Ravens, he totaled 947 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
5. Kordell Stewart, QB, Ravens (2004-05)
Okay, maybe we’re stretching by calling Kordell Stewart a legend. My Twitter is conveniently linked above if you want to tear me a new one. Still, don’t sleep on Slash.
He was the prototype for the “mobile quarterback” model that players like Michael Vick, Robert Griffin III, and Lamar Jackson would follow in later years.
Stewart was the quarterback on the other side of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry when it really took off in the early 2000s.
When the Steelers handed the Ravens their first-ever playoff defeat in January 2002, none other than Slash was the starting quarterback. In that divisional playoff game, Stewart was 12-of-22 for 154 yards and a touchdown.
Unfortunately, his inconsistent play saw him run out of Pittsburgh after the 2002 season. After one uneventful season in Chicago, Stewart joined the Ravens as a third-string quarterback for the 2004 season.
This gave the Ravens a quarterback rotation of Kyle Boller, Anthony Wright, and Kordell Stewart. It’s a testament to the brilliance of the Ravens’ defense that the team even won nine games that season.
Stewart never threw a pass as a Raven, although he did live up to his “Slash” reputation by serving as a replacement punter after Dave Zastudil suffered an injury. Stewart retired after the 2005 season.
6. Lorenzo Neal, RB, Ravens (2008)
Nowadays, the fullback is a dying position in the NFL, made mostly obsolete by constantly evolving offensive strategy.
Aside from the 49ers’ Kyle Juszczyk, most players who line up at the position are tight ends or tailbacks in disguise. Even the Ravens’ own Patrick Ricard sometimes moonlights as a defensive end.
Lorenzo Neal was one of the last of a dying breed. Along with Daryl “the Moose” Johnston, Mike Alstott, Mack Strong, and Sam Gash, Neal was one of the great fullbacks who ruled the league in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Over a 16-year NFL career, Neal blocked for some of the best running backs of his era, including Eddie George, Warrick Dunn, and LaDainian Tomlinson.
The Baltimore Ravens would be the seventh and final stop on Neal’s NFL journey in 2008. He only carried the ball 12 times for 25 yards that season.
But thanks in large part to his blocking, the Ravens finished with the third-best rushing attack in the league, as he created holes for Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee.
Baltimore unexpectedly reached the AFC Championship Game where they lost to the Steelers.