That Time Ray Lewis Almost Became a Green Bay Packer

NFL Hall of Famer and near Packer Ray Lewis 

The NFL Draft hasn't always been the Green Bay Packers forte. Over the years, the team has missed out on a who's who of notable NFL talent including; Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derrick Thomas, just to name a few. As painful as this is going to be, we can now add NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis to that notorious list. 

According to former Packers director of player personnel Eliot Wolf, Green Bay had a prime opportunity to take the two-time Super Bowl champion, 

"John Michels was one, tackle from USC - now that one didn't work out. That's actually an interesting story because they were getting ready to draft Ray Lewis and Baltimore picked him right before, the pick before, and then they ended up picking John Michels. He got his prediction right, but it would have been a lot better to get Ray Lewis."

Ray Lewis, the most feared linebacker in NFL history

Yes, that Ray Lewis, arguably the most decorated linebacker in NFL history. The player aptly nicknamed BAMMMM would have come to Green Bay just prior to the team's Super Bowl XXXI victory, as a prime addition to what was already a legendary defense led by none other than Reggie White. There's no telling how many Super Bowls the Packers would have won had the legendary Ray Lewis manned the middle linebacker position. Certainly, Lewis would have learned from the veterans on the team, and perhaps extended their careers as well. It's difficult to fathom, considering the accolades he gathered throughout his legendary 17-year NFL career, but Lewis may have been even better as a Packer. 

The son of Packers Hall of Famer Ron Wolf continued to collectively break our hearts, 

"There was some disappointment because they actually had Ray on the phone. They were talking to Ray and Baltimore was still on the clock. They [the Packers] thought Ray was one of the best players in the draft. There were games where Ray had like 20 tackles. I know that's easy to say now. He's one of the best linebackers of all time, you know, first ballot Hall of Famer and all that, but he was kind of seen as an undersized middle linebacker back then. He wasn't what we know as Ray Lewis now, so Baltimore obviously got a good one."

During the 1996 draft, the Packers had Ray Lewis on the phone and were ready to pick him 27th. But moments before they could, the Ravens picked Lewis at No. 26. Patriots de facto GM Eliot Wolf was in the Packers war room that day and remembers it well.

🎧 https://t.co/5ezVIJc52X pic.twitter.com/kkQh6lTUgn

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 8, 2024

Ray Lewis went on to play his entire 17-year NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens. He won two Super Bowls, a Super Bowl MVP award, was two-time NFL Defensive MVP, 10-time All Pro, 13-time Pro Bowler, and still holds the record for most tackles over the course of an NFL career. 

Yes, that's me sighing in Green and Gold. 

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