“Hey, we’ve had this before, right, with Derrick Mason? This is déjà vu all over again, to quote Yogi Berra. We have great respect for Ed [Reed]. He’s a great player, and what a surprise to see him go there to the Jets. It’s a great reunion. A number of the defenses they were running the last game were Ed defenses that we know have been run here over the years with Rex [Ryan] and even since. It makes sense.” ~ John Harbaugh on what it will be like seeing Ed Reed again
“We’re really happy with the class. The draft classes … They’re all good football players; they’re all going to play here. They’re all doing well in their own regard. You can even go to Kapron Lewis-Moore, who was drafted late. Now he’s practicing, and he looks really good at practice. He could factor in later this year, as well. They’re all pluses in our eyes.” ~ John Harbaugh on the Ravens 2013 draft class
“It’s not something I’ve thought about. Obviously, it’s a part of this business, but I’m focused on helping our team win and doing what I can do to get back and contribute.” ~ Dennis Pitta on whether his quick return in contract related
“It’s weird. It’s almost like with [Derrick] Mason [from 2011]. Actually, it’s the exact same situation – that’s pretty weird. Some positive things happened that year, so hopefully we’ll get on a run seeing those guys. [Ed] Reed is like a brother. I texted him as soon as he signed with them congratulating him. Obviously, he wants to win and work on that playoff push up there, but none of that matters to our relationship off the field. Once we get on the field, it’s about playing. We’re representing Baltimore. He has Baltimore in his heart, but he’s representing New York. It will be huge for him and the Jets as well as this game for us and the Ravens.” ~ Torrey Smith on facing Ed Reed for the second time this season
“Not as much as I like. With all due respect, everybody knows the love and respect I have for Rex [Ryan], but he’s not on my team anymore. We don’t wear the same colors. If you’re not a part of my team, then you’re my enemy. I think he agrees and feels the same way. He said when he left, ‘I love you guys to death, but I’m going to give you guys my best punch, and I’m going to take yours.’” ~ Terrell Suggs on staying in touch with Rex Ryan
“I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t special; there’s no question it’s special. [There are] so many guys that are still there in Baltimore that meant a great deal to me. I know a ton of the guys on the coaching staff – it’s a great staff. Obviously, from Ozzie [Newsome] to [senior personnel assistant George] Kokinis, [assistant general manager] Eric DeCosta, and all those guys that I know … There’s several people in there that are friends of mine and some of the players are still there. It’ll be special to see them. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to go out there and win. Obviously, that’s what I want to do. I want to kick their butts, just like they want to kick mine. Without question, it will be special in that way. The fans were always great in Baltimore and always great to me.” ~ Rex Ryan on his visit to Baltimore
“I think the one that I coached before was the greatest free safety in the history of the sport. So, I think that’s probably not going to be fair to compare where he’s at now in his career, but with that being said, we’ll see how he plays. We kind of just threw him in – he had like three days of prep and we just threw him in – and I thought he did well for us.” ~ Rex Ryan on how Ed Reed performed in his Jets’ debut
“I don’t know how that’s going to go. If a position opens up or something like that, of course. I know football. You have a lot of people who work around football that never even played the game, so if you can’t give Ed a job – third person again – I don’t know what to tell you. I’ll probably get away from it for a while and just play a lot of golf around Baltimore and spend some time in the school system that I wasn’t able to do during football season.” ~ Ed Reed on returning to the Ravens organization in the future.