When Ravens center Matt Birk went home to Minnesota last week, he wasn’t certain whether he’d be back for a 14th NFL season. Ultimately, he said, it will come down to his level of passion for the game

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said today that he wouldn’t rule out taking a look at incarcerated former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who’s scheduled to be released from a New York prison in June. “Sure, yeah,” Harbaugh said at the Ravens’ training complex when asked if he would consider signing Burress. “I don’t know Plaxico Burress at all. I’ve never met him, but we’d consider him. “We’d consider anybody. It would just depend on where he’s at. I’d like to find out what kind of a person he is and see where he’s really at in his life.” Burress is serving a two-year prison term for a conviction for carrying an unregistered handgun into a Manhattan nightclub, running afoul of the strict New York gun laws. — National Football Post

Joe Flacco, Baltimore’s No. 18 overall pick in 2008, will make his third consecutive playoff appearance in three seasons. The Ravens will pay Flacco $200,000 for each postseason win. Flacco can make a maximum of $800,000 for leading the Ravens to a Super Bowl title as a wild card. — ESPN

A day after Ravens coach John Harbaugh jokingly suggested on his radio show that he might institute running laps in practice if Michael Oher continues his bad habit of moving early, the left tackle didn’t disagree with his coach. “Something like that,” Oher said Wednesday before the team’s practice in Owings Mills. “You’ve got to get it done. But I’m pretty sure it’s done after the last game. Should be done.” Asked what gave him the confidence to say that, Oher said, “I’ve just got to get it done. I’ve just got to do it.” Oher leads the team in both penalties (11) and false starts (eight) this season and has accrued a combined 19 penalties and 14 false starts in two seasons. — Baltimore Sun

It was more of a slow boil as Baltimore Ravens veteran wide receiver Derrick Mason expressed his frustrations with a faltering offense that proved costly in a pivotal 13-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens generated a meager total of three points and 96 yards in the second half. “You wonder why you come back and play after stuff like this, because there ain’t no way, I mean, Pittsburgh’s a good team, can’t take it away from them, but there’s no way we should have lost this game,” Mason said. “Seriously. This just makes me personally wonder why I came back. To play in a game like this and to lose a game like this, it hurts worse than any other game. “It’s sad to say, but we’re not a good offense at times. We’re really aren’t. For whatever reason it is, I don’t know. But we’re not a good offense at times. I’m not pointing any fingers at anybody, because I’m a part of the equation, but we’re just not a good offense at times, and it showed up today.” — Carroll County Times

Willis McGahee will not be traded this season, coach John Harbaugh said Monday. There was speculation that the Ravens might move the veteran running back before Tuesday’s NFL trading deadline. McGahee didn’t play Sunday at New England, which stirred more speculation about the Ravens trading him. “There is no Willis trade talk,” Harbaugh said. “Unless there is something I don’t know about — which is almost impossible — there is absolutely no way he’s being traded. He will be on our team this week and for the rest of the season. He will be a key part in what we’re doing.” — Baltimore Sun

Admitting he had “a horrible day,” Browns cornerback Eric Wright pinned the entire 24-17 loss to the Ravens on himself because of the three touchdowns he surrendered to Anquan Boldin. “I let my team down,” said Wright. “This loss — I’ll definitely take that especially defensively because if you take away even just one of those plays, we win the game. It’s as simple as that.” A source said something was definitely wrong with Wright both physically and mentally, but he wasn’t about to reveal it or use it as an excuse. “I didn’t feel like myself at all and I didn’t play like myself,” Wright added. “(Boldin is) a good player, but I don’t think it’s anything that he did that I wasn’t expecting, or anything special that he did. He’s obviously a good player, but I just didn’t play up to my ability, not even close. — Cleveland Plain Dealer

Former Ravens star RB Jamal Lewis, 31, entertains thoughts of a comeback. He admits to watching games, and keeping track of teams in need of a running back. Lewis says he works out regularly and weighs 250 pounds, only ten pounds above his playing weight. — Baltimore Sun

An irate Ray Lewis said the officials cost the Baltimore Ravens Sunday’s game. “They didn’t earn it,” the Ravens Pro Bowl linebacker said of the Bengals. To Lewis, the Bengals had plenty of help – and he might have a legitimate complaint about the two penalties at issue. Both are considered judgment calls: the 10-yard tripping penalty on Lewis in the third quarter, and the 15-yard roughing the passer infraction on Suggs in the fourth. Both penalties led to go-ahead field goals for the Bengals, with the latter turning out to be the winning score. “There were six points given off b.s. calls,” Lewis said. “You put six points on the (darn) board by people doing their job. There are so many rules that take away from the game. There’s too much crying in the game. Football is getting hit. You don’t come into a lion’s den and be nice. It’s embarrassing.” — Cincinnati Enquirer