Baltimore Ravens

Retired NFL superstar Chris Johnson says he's still so fast ... he could beat Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson in a race TODAY!!!

The former Tennessee Titans running back told the guys on "TMZ Sports" (airing weeknights on FS1) he has zero doubts about it too ... saying, "Yeah, I beat him right now."

It's a WILD statement from the 34-year-old ... considering nobody has been able to catch up to Lamar at all this season (the guy has 1,206 rushing yards on just 176 carries).

But, Johnson swears he's still got wheels ... remember, he told us back in March he could still get his 40-yard dash time down to a 4.2!!!

Lamar Jackson put on an MVP caliber season in 2019 and NOBODY saw it coming ... that is, nobody except Larry David, who says he personally called the Jets and told them to draft the QB in 2018!!

And, guess what then-GM Mike Maccagnan did after David gave his two cents??? HE LAUGHED.

Of course, the "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" mastermind is a HUUUUGE Jets fan ... and joined "The Michael Kay Show" on Tuesday to talk all things New York sports.

That's when David pointed out his beloved 7-9 Jets might have had a better season if the team had taken his call seriously.

"I did call Mike Maccagnan before the 2018 draft and I recommended that he draft Lamar Jackson. I have a witness," David said ... and Maccagnan's reaction has gotta put a bad taste in NY fans' mouths.

"He kinda gave me the most condescending ... he laughed at me. But, who can blame him?"

David admits he's guilty of calling the team in the past -- he also recommended the Jets draft Reggie Bush in 2006. They didn't.

As for Jackson, he led the Baltimore Ravens to the top playoff seed in the AFC and posted incredible numbers -- passing for 3,127 yards and 36 TDs ... and rushing for 1,206 yards and 7 TDs. Some would say that's "pretty, pretty, pretty good."

Jamal Lewis says he's giving the slight edge to his 2000 Ravens team in a hypothetical matchup against this year's Baltimore squad -- and it's all 'cause of Ray Lewis!

We got the ex-Ravens RB out at LAX on Monday and we just had to ask ... who would win in a tilt -- his 2000 Baltimore Super Bowl team, or this season's squad?

Of course, the '00 Ravens are considered one of the greatest of all-time ... with their defense STACKED with legends.

But, this year's Ravens team is also considered one of the best ever -- mostly because of Lamar Jackson's insane running ability.

So, who would win? Lewis says he's pretty sure it'd be a stalemate ... but then appeared to give his old team the advantage.

"We did have Ray Lewis," Jamal said with a laugh, "So, we might be able to stop Lamar."

Of course, the hypothetical matchup will only be a thing if the Ravens can finish off this year. They get the Tennessee Titans on Saturday and will likely have to play the KC Chiefs for a spot in the Super Bowl the following week.

Don "Wink" Martindale, listen up ... the OG Wink Martindale wants tickets to a Ravens game ASAP as payment for letting ya snag his nickname!!!

We got the legendary personality out at Craig's this month ... and when we asked him about Baltimore's defensive coordinator borrowing his famous moniker, Wink was HILARIOUS with our photog.

"I think I'm gonna sue him for using my name!" Wink said with a laugh, before adding, "I love it! I love it! I get mentioned on Ravens games, I love it!"

But, even though Wink is all kinds of down to hear his name at NFL games, he still would like to see some ROI ... and says tickets to watch Lamar Jackson up close would do the trick!

"Get the word to him," Wink says. "I want an invite!"

Bad news for the Ravens' Wink? There's only one home game left for Baltimore in the regular season ... which means the DC might have to pony up for playoff tix in January.

No one was happier about Lamar Jackson breaking Mike Vick's QB rushing record ... than Mike Vick!!!

The Baltimore Ravens quarterback passed Vick for the #1 spot on the single season rushing record for a QB on Thursday night, moving past Vick's 1,039 yards from the 2006 season.

Jackson was only 23 yards shy going into the Jets game -- and smashed it -- finishing with 1,103 on the season ... and he's still got 2 games to go!

Mike Vick, who's been praising Jackson all season, immediately made a congratulatory video for the young superstar.

"Congratulations Lamar, we knew it was coming man!"

"Like I said, you was the guy for the job. You did it and you did it well. Keep rushing and set the bar high man!"

"It's gonna be an amazing run for you. Appreciate everything you do for the game."

Jackson, to his credit, seemed more interested in getting the victory than breaking the record ... and spelled it out during a hilarious post-game interview with Erin Andrews.

His running back/hype man, Mark Ingram, eventually took over the interview -- and it was GOLD!!! Check out the dancing teammate in the background!

Could you imagine a young Doug Flutie playing in today's NFL? He can ... and the ex-QB says he's convinced he woulda crushed it -- pointing to Lamar Jackson as proof!

"I just wish I could play in the NFL today with these spread offenses, quarterback runs and all that," Flutie says ... "It would be a blast! It would be a little more suited to me."

Flutie was a human highlight reel back in the day ... he won the Heisman Trophy in 1984 and then played pro football until 2005!!!

He could run. He could throw. He even kicked a field goal!!!

So, when Flutie sees another amazing athlete like Lamar Jackson KILLING IT as a QB ... he LOVES EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!

"Lamar Jackson is unbelievable. I was a running QB. He's an elite tailback if he wants to! He's amazing! His shiftiness, his pure speed and then he has the ability to really throw the football too!"

"The other way to stop a QB that runs is loading up the box and leave 'em one-on-one coverage ... and he can make those throws out there, so he's really tough to defend."

Flutie says he's incredibly proud of his fellow Heisman winner and admits, "I love the way he's doing it because it makes me validate some of the stuff I did."

It's a really cool clip.

And get this, Doug is bringing back his famous Flutie Flakes breakfast cereal ... and he's telling TMZ Sports the story about bringing it back after 20 years!

A high percentage of the proceeds will go toward Doug's charity -- the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism -- a cause very dear to his heart.

Lamar Jackson's breakout season has officially reached the Vatican City ... 'cause Pope Francis was just gifted a personalized Ravens jersey signed by the superstar QB!!!

Baltimore Archbishop William Lori was bearing gifts when he hit up Rome this week ... handing the pontiff his very own "Francis #8" jersey with Jackson and John Harbaugh's signatures on it!!!

Jackson has been playing outta his mind this season ... with a combined 32 total touchdowns, 2,532 passing yards and 977 rushing yards. Now that the pope has the dude on his radar, you might as well hand him the MVP trophy now.

Sorry, Russell Wilson ... maybe next year.

Of course, Pope Francis has been showing a lot of bias lately ... remember when he accidentally tweeted support for the New Orleans Saints earlier this season???

Here's the most fighting the Rams did all night Monday ...

Jalen Ramsey had to be restrained by several L.A. Rams staffers after he and Marcus Peters nearly came to blows just minutes after the Ravens beat the hell out of JR's squad.

The game was wild ... the Rams couldn't stop Lamar Jackson at all in a 45-6 blowout -- and when Peters started ballin' out, he trash-talked Jalen like crazy.

Cameras caught the Ravens cornerback screaming across the sideline at Jalen ... and then they later filmed him mocking Ramsey's celebration after an interception.

It all spilled over into a near brawl at midfield after the final whistle ... when the two were in a heated screaming match.

Eventually, the guys were separated -- with Ramsey having to be essentially carried all the way to his locker room up the tunnel at the L.A. Coliseum.

At one point, Peters reportedly told Ramsey, "[We] kicked y’all ass out the playoffs."

Unclear why the two have such bad beef -- although it seems Peters is pretty pissed after the Rams traded him to Baltimore last month and then acquired Jalen only a few hours later.

Peters did NOT address the media after the incident ... and Ramsey refused to take questions from reporters over it all, saying, "I ain't going to answer no BS."

As for their team's standings ... Ramsey's Rams are pretty much dead after Monday's L -- while Peters' Ravens are now the Super Bowl favorites.

Just call him Raystradamus ... 'cause Ray Lewis tells TMZ Sports he was positive Lamar Jackson would be a beast in the NFL, saying he even predicted it to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti back in 2018!!!

"I was telling him about this draft," Lewis says. "I was like, 'Listen. You don't know what you got in Lamar Jackson, but I watched that kid his ENTIRE career. He has an 'it' factor!'"

Ray -- who spoke with us on the set of Showtime's "Inside the NFL" -- tells us he's a HUGE college football fan ... and watched a ton of Lamar while the quarterback was tearing up defenses at Louisville.

Ray says it didn't take him long to determine the guy would be an NFL superstar, telling us, "There's a number of athletes that come around in generations that have an 'it' factor."

"He has an 'it' factor."

As for what "it" is, Lewis says it's simple -- "It's, 'I make everybody around me better.'"

Lewis says he and Jackson actually have a good personal relationship as well ... telling us he hosted Jackson at his home shortly after the Ravens drafted him 2018.

"We sat out back by my pool and I just gave him all this insight about what life is and what he can do in Baltimore and how he can change the culture."

Move over Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley ... Jamal Lewis says Lamar Jackson is the top runner in the NFL -- telling TMZ Sports he thinks the Ravens QB is a future Hall of Famer!

"It's like watching the era of Michael Vick all over again," Lewis says.

Jackson has been shredding through defenses all season ... and Lewis -- a legendary Baltimore running back -- tells us he doesn't think there's any fluke at all to Lamar's year so far.

In fact, Lewis says he believes Jackson is only scratching the surface of his potential ... and is on pace to make the Hall of Fame one day.

"He's just only going to get better and better," Lewis says. "And, I think that that's where good coaching and a good organization like the Ravens bringing that all together is going to make him a future Hall of Famer."

As for Lamar's skill set now, Lewis says after watching that sick run the 22-year-old had against the Bengals on Sunday, he's convinced the guy is currently the NFL's best runner.

Alex Collins had a massive jug of weed and a gun on the floorboards of his crashed Corvette ... and police video obtained by TMZ Sports shows cops making the shocking find and arresting the NFL RB for it.

Collins skidded off the road at around 4:30 a.m. near the Baltimore Ravens' practice facility in Owings Mills, Maryland when he was a member of the team back in March 2019.

In video we obtained ... you can see a cop pulling up to the scene shortly after the crash -- and it's pretty wild.

Collins' pricey ride -- which looks like the Batmobile -- is rammed against some trees and stuck in a snowy ditch ... and Collins appears to be asleep when the officer opens the passenger door.

Collins explains to the cop he had crashed earlier in the morning and was waiting for a tow ... but after Alex had some issues with expired tags, things got dicey for the 25-year-old.

The cop hits him with a ticket, but explains he smells a strong odor of marijuana from the car as well ... and asks him straight-up how much weed he has in the vehicle.

The running back claims he doesn't know ... saying it belonged to his buddy, Tykheem "TJ" Dunaway, who was a passenger in the car earlier but had walked home instead of sticking around.

TJ eventually showed back up to the scene ... and after the cop discovered the jug of weed and a firearm in the car -- he put Collins in cuffs and questioned TJ.

TJ told the cop the weed definitely belonged to Collins ... saying, "It's his. I didn't know it was in the car until it crashed because we were coming from a party."

Eventually, both dudes were arrested for possession of the weed ... while Collins was also booked for having a handgun in his vehicle.

Collins fought the case in court for months ... but in October, he agreed to a plea deal in which he pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges of possession of a handgun and possession of weed.

In exchange, Collins received probation and a fine ... and had his felony charges dropped.

Collins -- who was cut by the Ravens immediately after the arrest -- is still looking for a team this season ... despite being hit with a 3-game suspension by the NFL over the incident.

Odell Beckham says he had a golden opportunity to retaliate against Marlon Humphrey after Sunday's choking incident ... but chose not to fight back because "it's not MMA."

The Cleveland Browns WR says he was fined by the NFL for the incident -- even though he claims he was not the aggressor and was only defending himself.

But, Beckham says things could have been WAYYYY worse ... if he wasn't such a mature and restrained person.

"There was an opportunity for me to really take things way further," Beckham said.

"He was on the ground, I was standing up still. And, I kind of just let the moment pass."

Beckham says the decision to NOT fight back shows how mature he is now -- "I've come a long way. I probably would have been suspended for the next game if I would have done what I wanted to do."

He added, "This is football, this isn't MMA. This isn't 'Street Fighter.' It's a different story."

Of course, the big dispute is whether or not Marlon actually choked Beckham -- something the Ravens have said did NOT happen.

Beckham deflected when asked straight up about the strangulation ... "I don't know. We grown ass men."

"We get hit every day. We get hit by 300 pounders. I’m good."

Beckham also griped about the fighting fine from the NFL ... saying he's sick and tired of the league taking money out of his pockets.

"I understand the penalty, getting fined for that. But, pants above your knees or a shirt hanging out, we’re talking about a t-shirt that cost $5 to make and you’re getting $5,000 taken from you.”

The Ravens might not beat the Chiefs this weekend on the field ... but they'd WHOOP THAT ASS on the dance floor -- 'cause Baltimore's stars just showed all their moves, and they're insane!!!

Mark Ingram filmed the whole locker room party ... and it's the best few minutes of video you'll see all day.

The rug cutting begins with safety Tony Jefferson showing off some fancy footwork ... and then linebacker Matthew Judon and D-lineman Brandon Williams hop in the mix.

There's a tremendous rendition of the "Chicken Noodle Soup" dance ... and when the DJ switches tunes, there's even more greatness.

Hollywood Brown drops it low ... and Jefferson, who at some point took off his shirt for the party, shows off even crazier moves!!!

Seriously, it's all amazing.

Michael Vick just paid the ultimate compliment to Lamar Jackson ... the NFL legend tells TMZ Sports the Ravens QB reminds him of himself!!!

"I think they're good comparisons man," Vick says. "If anybody looking like me, it's Lamar!!!"

Vick is known as the greatest dual-threat QB in NFL history ... and after Lamar tore up the Dolphins and Cardinals in back-to-back weeks -- we had to ask Mike for his take on LJ.

Vick says he loves that people are comparing Jackson's game to his ... telling us, "That's a dangerous man behind center!!!"

In fact, Vick is so high on what Jackson's been doing to start the 2019 season ... he says he has ZERO advice for him going forward.

"Keep doing what you're doing," Vick says. "Don't change nothing."

By the way, Vick also clapped back at everyone saying Jackson's stats are inflated by playing two sorry teams ... telling us, "You don't go out and throw 5 touchdown passes and call it a fluke."

Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson ... and Lamar Jackson???

Jamal Lewis says that very well could be the NFL's top quarterback list in just a few seasons ... 'cause the Ravens legend tells TMZ Sports he thinks the Baltimore QB has that much potential.

"I really think he can be one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL in a few years," Lewis says.

Lamar just set the Miami Dolphins on fire last Sunday, throwing for 5 TDs and 324 yards ... and Lewis says, after that performance, he's convinced the guy has a HUGE ceiling.

"I think he can really break some records in this league," Lewis says.

Of course, Lamar still has his detractors ... some NFL pundits aren't convinced the guy can truly, consistently throw the football -- saying the 'Fins were just that bad last weekend.

But, Lewis is clapping back at all those haters ... saying he thinks Jackson can "take the Ravens deep in the playoffs pretty much every year."

Robert Griffin III's first TD pass since 2016 on Sunday almost never happened ... the former Heisman Trophy winner just revealed he nearly quit football to switch to track.

RGIII was cut from the Browns after the 2016 season ... and that's when he says he thought about giving up the game, writing on social media on Monday that he "contemplated" the move.

Of course, the 29-year-old was a superstar on the track back in the day ... he set state records in high school as a hurdler -- and even killed it when he ran for one season at Baylor.

His wife, Grete, is also a former college track athlete who competed at Florida State. We've posted video of the two training together over the years.

The track dreams appeared to have died after RG3 won the Heisman Trophy in 2011 and becoming an immediate superstar for the Washington Redskins.

But, Griffin says when his whole career bottomed out after his time in Cleveland, he thought about going back, writing on a list of things he's gone through since his Browns release, "The contemplating of a transition back to track."

Griffin ended up sticking with football ... and playing in just his fourth game since '16, he threw a touchdown pass to Mark Andrews in the Ravens' blowout of the Dolphins.

"You see.....there is always more to the story than meets the eye," Griffin says ... "Everyone sees the result but doesn’t know what you had to go through to get there."

"Never count yourself out and always be ready. Thank You @ravens Coach Harbaugh and my great teammates for helping me every step of the way. Let’s keep it rolling."

By the way, RG3's wife gave birth to their 2nd child on Saturday -- 24 hours before Griffin's game. RG3 posted a pic of their brand new baby daughter calling her "amazing!"