By Rich Campbell
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, March 1, 2007

The Baltimore Ravens released running back Jamal Lewis yesterday in a salary cap-related move that ended the seven-year tenure of the franchise's all-time leading rusher.

Lewis's release did not come as much of a surprise. He was scheduled to earn a $5 million roster bonus on Saturday, and his 2007 salary would have accounted for $11.6 million of the team's $109 million salary cap.

Baltimore will begin searching for a new starting running back -- and the list of candidates could include Lewis himself. Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome said that the team will continue negotiating with Lewis with hopes of bringing him back.

"We are involved in negotiations with Jamal Lewis, and there has been good dialogue," Newsome said in a statement. "Jamal has been a significant contributor to us in the last seven seasons. It's our hope to have him back with the Ravens."

Lewis, 27, started all 16 regular season games in 2006 and rushed for 1,132 yards and 9 touchdowns on 314 carries. His average of 3.6 yards per carry was the second lowest of his career, though, and the Ravens finished the season ranked 25th in the NFL in rushing offense.

Lewis's production increased from 59 yards per game to 78 after Ravens Coach Brian Billick took over play-calling responsibilities in Week 8. The team said after the season that Lewis had been hampered all year by pain in his right ankle and had surgery earlier this offseason.

He just completed the first year of a three-year contract that was structured as essentially a one-year deal. He made $1 million in base salary in 2006 but was scheduled to earn $5 million in both 2007 and 2008. If Lewis is not re-signed, he will count $3.3 million against the Ravens' cap in 2007, the result of his prorated signing bonus.

Mitch Frankel, Lewis's agent, did not return a phone message.

The Ravens drafted Lewis fifth overall in 2000, and his punishing style made him a valuable weapon, particularly late in games while protecting a lead. During his rookie season, he rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown in Baltimore's Super Bowl XXXV victory.

Lewis developed into one of the league's top running backs and in 2003 was named the NFL's offensive player of the year. He earned his only Pro Bowl invitation that season after rushing for 2,066 yards, the second-best single-season total in league history, and 14 touchdowns.

In 2004, however, Lewis pleaded guilty to using a cellphone in violation of federal law to facilitate a drug trafficking crime over four years earlier. He served a four-month jail sentence before training camp in 2005, and has battled several nagging injuries since.

Lewis rebounded last season from a sub-par 2005 in which he failed to reach 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career (aside from the 2001 season he lost to a knee injury). His 7,801 rushing yards are by far the most in team history.

Lewis's release leaves the Ravens without anyone who rushed for more than 200 yards last season. Seven-year veteran Mike Anderson, Lewis's backup, carried 39 times for 183 yards and one touchdown. Musa Smith rushed for 153 yards on 36 carries before being placed in injured reserve with a neck injury.