| | Associated Press
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Shannon Sharpe caught a short pass and
took one step before Ray Lewis tossed the former All-Pro tight end
to the ground.
|  | | Ray Lewis talks to the media after making his return to the Baltimore Ravens. |
"I knew he was going to be there, but I didn't expect him to
tackle me," Sharpe said with a grin.
Back in uniform Monday for the first time since standing trial
on murder charges, Lewis had a wonderful time joking and competing
with his teammates on the Baltimore Ravens.
"It's a moment I knew was coming," he said. "It feels good.
It's always fun to step back on the football field."
For weeks, Lewis wore a suit and tie in court, while prosecutors
implicated him in a double murder outside a post-Super Bowl party
in Atlanta.
Exactly one week after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge
of obstructing justice in an agreement that had him testify against
his former co-defendents, Lewis once again was wearing his purple
No. 52 jersey as the Ravens opened a four-day minicamp.
Soon after the practice session ended, the Atlanta jury
acquitted co-defendents Joseph Sweeting and Reginald Oakley. Lewis
had left camp by the time the news came and was unavailable for
comment, and the Ravens declined to comment on the verdicts.
The Baltimore players weren't wearing pads in the workout, but
that didn't stop Lewis from flattening Sharpe during a
non-contact drill. Sharpe and Lewis lifted weights together in
Atlanta virtually every night after court was adjourned for the
day.
"It's real good to see him out there," Sharpe said. "He was
anxious to get out there, and he should be after what he went
through.
"He felt good, but it was only the first day. Later on he's
going to be dragging, I can assure you."
The soreness associated with playing football might be a welcome
feeling for Lewis, who once faced the prospect of a lengthy jail
term but emerged with 12 months probation and no suspension from
the NFL.
The Ravens couldn't be happier to see him again, because the
league's No. 2 defense in 1999 just isn't the same without Lewis at
middle linebacker. Because of his legal problems, he missed one
minicamp and a pair of passing camps.
"The defense needs him because I've really been dicing them up
since he's been gone," quarterback Tony Banks said.
"The team with the best players always win. The more good
players you have, the better chance you have of winning," Sharpe
said. "There's no question he's one of the top players on our
ballclub. It's to our advantage to have him out there every snap."
Before the play against Sharpe, Lewis slipped while trying to
cover running back Priest Holmes, who easily caught a short pass
from Banks. But for the most part, Lewis looked sharp.
"After 15 years, you just don't lose it," he said. "I felt
comfortable out there today."
The beginning of minicamp usually draws about a dozen reporters,
but the crowd surrounding the field Monday almost matched the 80
players who participated in the two-hour session.
"I don't think the players were overly distracted, and if we
can get this out of the way this week and not have to address it at
training camp, all the better," coach Brian Billick said.
Before the practice, many of Lewis' teammates made a point of
going by his locker to welcome him back.
"He's very positive, as well he should be," Sharpe said. "He
went through all that and now gets the opportunity to come back and
do something he loves and enjoys doing."
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