I know this will be blasphemy to many of you. I hate having to say it myself. Ed Reed has long been one of my favorite Ravens. I have his jersey. He's going to Canton five years after he retires. He's one of the three best free safeties in NFL history by anyone's reckoning.

But if the Ravens bring him back, they will be making a mistake.

I could make a fine case for Ed Reed. I could start off talking about how Brady and Manning avoided the middle of the field because of the risk that Reed would make them look foolish. I could continue by talking about how his quiet leadership is a great example to the younger defensive backs, that he's been able to help keep a defense loaded with talent and personality from coming off the rails at times. I could even tell you how we've got nothing worthwhile behind him and we'll suffer if we let him walk... especially to a rival like the Pats.

But none of that would be enough.

Ed Reed is going to cost us significant money to re-sign. Probably not the $7m he got last season, but he's at the end stage of his career. He doesn't need or want long-term security or contract numbers he won't actually see. He wants to get paid now, while he still can. And he wants to linger long enough to set or approach the all-time interceptions record. I hope he gets there, in some other uniform.

Ed Reed isn't going to cost us money, Ed Reed is going to cost us players. Maybe it's Boldin, maybe Jacoby, maybe Leach, maybe Ellerbe, maybe McKinnie or some free agent left tackle. I don't know how it's all going to play out. But rest assured that if we pony up even $3-5m for the next few years to keep him in purple, some important younger piece of the puzzle is going to be sent elsewhere.

And we've all seen what no one really wants to admit. Ed Reed at 34 is a step slower. He's not quite able to close and make plays like he used to. He can't be isolated as the single high safety and still get there on sideline deep balls like he could 6-8 years ago. And he doesn't tackle, not any more, not after the neck and shoulder injuries. He's getting old. None of this is going to improve. The young QBs don't fear him, they know him only by reputation. And eventually the Bradys and Mannings of the NFL are going to realize it too, and start to take their shots over the middle again. Maybe he'll get a few picks. But he'll also be beat for some scores too, scores that a younger Reed wouldn't have permitted.

What if he finds there's no market out there, and is willing to come back for close to minimum money? It won't happen, but even if it did, why would he? Maybe he decides the interception record isn't worth dragging himself through a few more years for almost nothing, walks out on top alongside Ray. Worse, maybe he checks out a bit, decides he's done enough, that if someone's not going to pay him what he thinks he's worth, he's only going to give them as much as they paid for. Hey, he's human. And proud. He has nothing left to prove to anyone.

There's going to come a time, soon, where Ed Reed has to be put on the bench in favor of a younger player. Do we need to see that happen here, in Baltimore? I say we don't.

Maybe the 2013 Ed Reed will have a few highlight reel plays, prove me wrong. But history has shown across the NFL that it's better to cut ties with a player a year too soon than a year too late. Ed's got his ring. He's done all he needs to do to be a Baltimore legend forever. Let's remember him as the guy who made the pick in the Super Bowl to help us win our second trophy... and not the guy he'll become, the guy some team's fan base looks at and thinks, "we paid how much money for this?"

Some day Ed's going to be in our Ring of Honor, and in Canton, and maybe even get his jersey retired. But Super Bowl XLVII should be his last game as a Raven. I hope Ozzie and company see that too, and don't let emotion and history get in the way of this decision. As always, I trust them to do the right thing here. Shake Ed's hand, thank him for his many wonderful years here, and wish him the best of luck as his career winds down in another uniform.