Baltimore Ravens: Remembering Ed Reed

Ed Reed retires. If you’re as emotional about this as I am, it still hasn’t fully sunk in. A kid from small town Destrehan, Louisiana, the nine time Pro Bowl Ed Reed takes his final bow as he exits football. And the Baltimore Ravens nation is stunned.

We all knew it was just a matter of time. Ray Lewis retired shortly after Baltimore’s 2012 Super Bowl run and we speculated how long before Reed followed.

I mean after all, the guy has nothing left to prove. Eight-time All-Pro, 2004 Defensive Player of the Year, a clear first ballot Hall of Famer, and arguably the greatest to ever play the position, Ed Reed could have easily ridden off into the sunset just like Ray.

But he didn’t exactly do that. Ed stuck around to play a few more seasons and make a little more money. I can’t say I blame him. He wasn’t completely broken down physically and still had much to offer. Unfortunately those last few seasons did not go so well and Reed was not a Raven.

Still, rough ending aside, one can only marvel at Reed’s career and accomplishments. He’s been with the Ravens through all the bad times, including the drought against Pittsburgh in the playoffs and the 2011 AFC Championship loss. As he neared the end of his run, we all became concerned whether he would ever win the one thing that still eluded him: a Super Bowl ring.

It’s only fitting that in his final game as a Raven, Reed would endure a jarring hit, play through the pain, and record an interception; all in the Super Bowl no less. He was the perennial ballhawk redefining the position. I wonder who his favorite quarterback was to play against.