For Ray Lewis, the tempting move is to sign with the Cowboys or Jets. The right move is to re-sign with the Ravens.

Unless Lewis signs a new deal with the Ravens before free agency begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, we will see if the Cowboys are serious about courting Lewis, a future Hall of Famer who is an icon in Baltimore. You cannot blame Lewis for considering all options. But sometimes, the best moves in life are the ones you never make.

Lewis is playing for a team that just reached the AFC championship game. Stay out of the drama in Dallas, Ray. Send your pal Rex Ryan a good luck card, but jettison any thought of joining the Jets. Make the best deal you can with the Ravens. Finish your career in Baltimore and retire in the place where you built your legacy.

When you have played with one team for so long, switching teams late in your career is risky business. Ask Brett Favre. Ask Zach Thomas. Ask Jason Taylor.

I could see Lewis leaving the Ravens if they stunk or if they insulted him with their contract offer. But listening to Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome this weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine, it sounds as if the Ravens have been negotiating sincerely with Lewis and that owner Steve Bisciotti wants Lewis back.

"He has a very good relationship with Coach (John) Harbaugh, you know of his relationship with Steve and he and I have a very good relationship," Newsome said. "I think he realizes where our football team is, that we have Joe (Flacco) and that we can contend in our division and in our conference to try to get him to another Super Bowl. Those things are in place. But economics always plays a big part of it."

The thought of Lewis playing linebacker in a Cowboys uniform is intriguing, not only on the field but in the locker room. The Cowboys need a policeman to control their prima donnas. Lewis could be that guy. When Lewis speaks, teammates listen. Even opponents who don't listen to their own teammates — like Chad Johnson of the Bengals — listen to Lewis.

"He's a great mentor to not only the other young linebackers, but some of the young offensive players," Newsome said. "I think he did a great job of helping out our quarterback and Ray Rice. So he has value that goes beyond his production on the football field."

I still remember Lewis looking me squarely in the eyes during training camp last summer, insisting the Ravens would be good. I thought the heat was getting to him. Besides, sometimes I refrain from telling men who benchpress 300 pounds that I think they are dead wrong. So I smiled, nodded my head, then watched in surprise all season as the Ravens made the playoffs and Lewis played like he was 23, not 33.

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However, I still think Lewis is fooling himself if he thinks the Cowboys are close to reaching the Super Bowl. He should pop in a tape of the Cowboys' last two games, when their defense was run over by the Ravens (33-24) and by the Eagles (44-6). With a playoff spot on the line, the Cowboys came up smaller than a microchip. Against teams that made the playoffs last season, the Cowboys were 2-5.

The Cowboys have enough talent to tease Lewis, to make him think he could be the missing link. But Lewis is only guessing that he would fit in well with the Cowboys. With the Ravens, Lewis already knows he fits perfectly alongside two other defensive stars, safety Ed Reed and linebacker Terrell Suggs.

The Jets also might come after Lewis now that Ryan, the Ravens' former defensive coordinator, is the Jets' head coach.

Lewis loves Ryan, and they think alike. Asked at the Combine how long it would take the Jets' defense to be as good as the Ravens', Ryan did not mince words.

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I think next year," said Ryan. "If we bring in the kind of people we're talking about, we only need to add one or two guys. The foundation is already there." The Ravens have two other free agents the Jets might pursue--linebacker Bart Scott and safety Jim Leonhard. For those two players, leaving the Ravens makes more sense. They are younger than Lewis, and they have a lesser legacy in Baltimore.

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Lewis is a different case. He is part of Baltimore's identity, like crab cakes. Not many great athletes get to play their entire career with one team anymore.

The Cowboys need Lewis more than he needs them. Lewis does not need a star on is helmet. Remaining the biggest star in Baltimore would be his best move.

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