AP

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis isn’t quite the player he used to be at the age of 37, but don’t even think of telling him he should retire.

Asked by Ed Werder of ESPN if this could be Lewis’s final season, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said in no uncertain terms that there’s no way Lewis is retiring.

“If you tell Ray you hear he’s not playing any more, he’d freaking kill you,” Flacco told Werder.

That may be a poor choice of words, considering that Lewis was indicted for murder in 2000 and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice in connection with the stabbing deaths of two men. But Flacco’s point is that Lewis will decide for himself when he’s ready to walk away. And he has earned that right.

However, Lewis may decide to walk away fairly soon. Ray Lewis III starts playing at Miami next year, and Lewis sounds like he’s more excited about being able to see his son play at his alma mater than he is about continuing his own career. It’s hard to imagine the Ravens’ defense without Lewis out there, but we’ll see it soon. Even if Lewis isn’t ready to say exactly how soon.