Ray Lewis Injury: Trying to Play Hurt Is Right Move for Ravens LB

After suffering a toe injury in last week’s upset loss to the Seahawks, Ray Lewis hasn’t been practicing and appeared likely to be out of action for this Sunday’s meeting with Cincinnati. Fortunately for the Ravens, their emotional leader isn’t ready to give up just yet.

According to Pro Football Talk, Lewis is aiming to be in uniform for tomorrow’s game. Although the injury was expected to sideline him for up to four weeks, he’s got an outside chance of playing (and thus continuing a streak of consecutive games dating back to 2007).

Even if Lewis doesn’t get on the field, the symbolism of his gutting out the injury speaks volumes to a Baltimore team reeling from its third road upset of the season. The 16-year vet will have his defense fired up regardless of how much he himself is able to contribute.

Even at age 36, Lewis has scarcely slowed down, so it’s hard to imagine that playing through what appears to be a minor injury will do any lasting damage. If playing tomorrow would affect Lewis’ ability to stay healthy for the postseason, the decision might be a different one, but there’s no reason to believe that’s the situation here.

The other reason this move is such a smart one on Lewis’ part is that it shows how seriously he’s taking the underappreciated Bengals. By acting like his presence or absence could be the difference in the outcome, he’s making sure that his team doesn’t look past a game that could leave them in third place in the division if they lose.

Whether Lewis is anywhere near 100 percent in terms of his productivity is really beside the point. Just by trying to play, he has dramatically improved Baltimore’s chances of fending off a dangerous Cincinnati team.