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Brian Urlacher: Ray Lewis Is The Best Middle Linebacker Of All Time

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LEFT:(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) RIGHT:(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

If you ever find yourself in a debate with someone about who the better middle linebacker was between Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis, pick Ray Lewis. That's who Urlacher would pick. Urlacher, who announced his retirement on Wednesday, thinks Lewis is not only better than him but better than every middle linebacker who has ever played the game.

As long as neither player comes out of retirement, both men would become eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018, "If I'm lucky enough to go in with Ray, I'll say this about Ray: I think I'm pretty good; Ray's the best of all time," Urlacher said on the NFL Network's Total Access show. "His numbers, guys who played with him, you watch him, he did it the right way, he played hard. He's the best middle linebacker of all time."

Those are strong comments, especially coming from Urlacher, whose Bears have produced some of the best middle linebackers in NFL history, including Mike Singletary and Dick Butkus. "He was great," Urlacher said of Lewis. "I'm up there, I think, but not quite. The longevity he had was crazy, 17 years."

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