[Illusion]

Less than 12 hours after the Ravens replaced Chester Taylor with Mike Anderson, Jamal Lewis got what he wanted -- a chance to return to Baltimore.

Lewis accepted a three-year deal to stay in Baltimore. Terms of the deal were unavailable because Lewis' agent Mitch Frankel was on a flight this morning.

Lewis was planning to go to Denver for a visit and start to find another team but he kept in touch with the Ravens. Finally, after 24 hours of negotiations, going back and forth between short-term and long-term deals, Lewis accepted a three-year deal to stay and will have a conference call with the media later this afternoon.

Lewis rushed for a career-low 906 yards in 2005 after serving a four-month federal prison sentence on a drug charge and undergoing offseason ankle surgery.

Lewis, the franchise's career leading rusher with 6,669 yards, became a free agent in January. The Ravens considered, then decided against, applying the franchise tag to him. Lewis then passed up a two-year, incentive-laden offer from Baltimore that included a signing bonus.

"We are so excited to have Jamal back," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "If you look at his history, he always rebounds in a big way from adversity. He had a tough 2005 that started with surgery, his incarceration, and then dealing with all of the turmoil during the season with the contract hanging over his head. We expect big things from him."

Anderson was expected to sign a $8 million, four-year contract late Monday. Anderson, 32, ran for 1,014 yards and scored 12 touchdowns for Denver last season.

He received a $2 million signing bonus, according to NFL Players Association figures.

Anderson will likely fill the void left by the departure of Chester Taylor, who signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent on Saturday.

The agreement with Lewis capped a whirlwind three days for the Ravens, who lost four free agents over a 72-hour period: Taylor to the Vikings, punter Dave Zastudil to Cleveland, nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu to the Carolina Panthers and defensive end Tony Weaver to the Houston Texans.

But Baltimore added free agent defensive tackle Justin Bannan, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, and free agent defensive end Trevor Pryce, a four-time Pro Bowler with the Broncos.

In addition, the Ravens re-signed linebacker Bart Scott to a three-year, $13.5 million contract.

[bigboydan]

the real sick part about this one is, i still think there over paying him.

[Knoxy]

the real sick part about this one is, i still think there over paying him.

What are they paying him? The article doesn't say.