"The concept of playing a reduced or limited role is one that Ray Lewis isn't contemplating at this point.

Two days after Ravens coach John Harbaugh acknowledged that he had approached the 11-time Pro Bowl inside linebacker about reducing the number of snaps to extend his career, Lewis said Wednesday that he can't afford to leave the field to get a breather.

"If I do that, I'd cheat a whole lot of people," he said. "To give you an example last week, when the game was almost over right after I had that pick, Coach came and said,Come out. And then Sizzle [outside linebacker Terrell Suggs] looked at me and said, You can't come out. When I retire, I will be off the field a lot. But right now, I've got too much work to do, and for me to be out there, there's no way I can leave them out there fighting that battle and say, Oh, I can't be out there with them. No, because ability-wise, I mean, I don't talk about my business but there's no backer in the game better at doing what I do. So I don't worry about that stuff."