On Wednesday, the Super Bowl XLVII champion Baltimore Ravens boarded nine buses and traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet President Barack Obama at the White House and inform the Commander-in-Chief that they plan to be back next summer.

"I want you to know we have plans to be here next year, too," head coach John Harbaugh told Obama, who received a No. 44 Ravens jersey "Mr. President" stitched on the back.

With the players in suits behind him, Obama mentioned how different his entrance to Wednesday's event on the South Lawn was compared to how the Ravens enter M&T Bank Stadium.

"No smoke machines. No fire cannons. Obama didn't even tear up chunks of turf and rub them on his suit," Obama said, the first of two references to Ray Lewis' "squirrel dance" he'd make on Wednesday. "That reminds me...please don't do that on the South Lawn."

Obama detailed how the Ravens, as both a team and as individuals, overcome adversity throughout the regular season and pulled some late-game heroics to continue to advance through the playoffs to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. Obama also congratulated Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco for his performance in the playoffs, even using the "E" word.

"Good timing with that contract, huh?" Obama asked Flacco, who signed a six-year, $120.6 million contract extension on March 4. "Capped off one of the greatest postseasons ever by a quarterback. More than 1,100 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, no interceptions. I don't know about you, Joe, but I would say that qualifies as 'elite'. And I have to say that if you keep on playing like that, you're going to challenge (Vice President Joe) Biden as the most popular person from Delaware."

Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, two former members of the Ravens, were also singled out by President Obama.

"These two won't be wearing purple next year. Everybody is going to have to get used to that," said Obama. "It's welcomed news for quarterbacks. Ray retired on top, coming back from a triceps injury, which I believe was caused by that dance he does. (The injury) caused him to miss most of the regular season. Ed sprained ligaments in both of his knees during the Super Bowl, but he still made the game's only interception. And before he left Houston, where he'll be playing next year, Ed took out a full page ad in the Baltimore Sun to thank Ravens fans, saying 'I have such deep love for all of you'. So that's a class act."

Obama declined to Lewis' invitation to do the squirrel dance, but was happy to point out that the 34-year-old Reed is getting some gray in his hair.

"I'm not the only one," Obama said while turning back to address Reed. "You look like an old man...That makes me feel better. I thought I was the only guy."

Tyrann Mathieu could find multiple=

After a brief hiatus, our good buddy Greg Cosell of NFL Films, ESPN's NFL Matchup, and Shutdown Corner is back to talk a little football. And with a little more than a month passed since the draft, we thought it would be interesting to review that selection process by division, now that teams have given a bit of insight into how their new players will be used. We'll start with the NFC West, go through the divisions, and wind up just in time for training camp.

The Shutdown Corner NFC West draft review podcast with Greg Cosell

A few thoughts from Mr. Cosell:

On how new Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles might use defensive back Tyrann Mathieu: "A thought came to mind when you talked about how often the nickel cornerback will play. I wonder, in the NFC West, if it might be fewer snaps than for other teams [in other divisions]. San Francisco plays with two and three tight ends fairly often, Seattle has multiple tight ends and can use them, and the Rams signed Jared Cook. And, they still have Lance Kendricks. We don't know the answer to this, but he might play fewer snaps as the nickel corner. As far as the safety situation, I think they feel that he's a quick kid who's around the ball a lot, and they're trying to get him on the field. He's not going to start at corner. So, if he's a nickel corner, that's great. How many snaps? We don't know that, but if they want him on the field for 90 percent plus, he'll have to play safety."

On where Seahawks running back Christine Michael could fit into Seattle's plans: "He's a really intriguing running back. He's got size, lateral quickness, and natural power. He's got acceleration. He's got really explosive feet for a 220-poound back. I thought he was really decisive downhill. I liked him a lot. It's a pick where I'm sure they'll say that they had him highly rated and they had to take him, and I can understand that. But what's really fascinating about it is that here's a league in which running backs are not theoretically valued, and here's a guy who hardly carried the ball [in 2012], and he gets taken with the 62nd pick in the draft."

The Shutdown Corner NFC West draft review podcast with Greg Cosell

Ben Roethlisberger had knee surgery on Wednesday (USA Today Sports Images)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can been added to the list of NFL stars — which also includes New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul — who have undergone, or will undergo, surgery this month.

According to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Roethlisberger was absent during the team's penultimate OTA practice on Wednesday as he was having surgery on his right knee.

"Earlier today, Ben had minor surgery on his right knee that was the result of slight discomfort this offseason," Tomlin said in a statement released by the Steelers' PR department. "We advised him to get the surgery done to ensure he will be completely healthy for the start of training camp. This surgery will have no long-term effects on his health."

ESPN's Ed Werder reports that Roethlisberger's surgery was to repair meniscus, an injury that he could have played through, but doctors wanted to fix now, two months before the preseason opener against the Giants.

Injuries are nothing new for the 31-year-old Roethlisberger, who is entering his 10th season in the NFL and has played in all 16 regular season games just one time (2008). Roethlisberger missed three games in heart of the 2012 regular season due to a right shoulder injury and missed four games with injuries to both knees during the 2005 season.

JaMarcus Russell will work out for the Bears (USA Today Sports Images)

Former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell will be among a quartet of free agent quarterbacks who will work out for the Chicago Bears on Friday, reports Michael C. Wright of ESPN Chicago.

Wright is quick to point out that the Bears are planning to conduct workouts for players at several positions, which teams normally do to prepare their "emergency list" when injuries occur. Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune reports that Trent Edwards and Jordan Palmer will join Russell for Friday's workout.

Last week, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Russell had slimmed down with the hopes of attracting interest from an NFL team. Russell's weight had ballooned to over 300 pounds, but he dropped 50 pounds and recently weighed in at 265 pounds, the exact same weight he had at the 2007 scouting combine.

Selected by the Oakland Raiders with the top pick in the 2007 NFL draft, Russell missed training camp and the start of the regular season as he did not sign his six-year deal worth up to $68 million with over $31 million in guaranteed money until mid-September. In three seasons with the Raiders, Russell completed 52.1 percent of his 680 pass attempts for 4,083 yards with 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Russell was also sacked 70 times and lost 15 of 25 fumbles before the Raiders released him in May of 2010, two months before he was arrested in his Mobile, Alabama home for possession of codeine syrup without a prescription.

A grand jury declined to indict Russell on those charges, but the former LSU standout has been out of football ever since. The 27-year-old Russell has been working with former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia at TEST Academy in San Diego, California.

Clay Matthews, enjoying life. (Getty Images)

Next season, the NFL will be installing cameras in locker rooms for fans at stadiums to get a look at their teams while off the field. The ideal scenario, of course, is a revealing behind-the-scenes look at teams in preparation, exultation or darkest defeat. The reality will be long, intensely boring stretches of silence, with only a third-string linebacker taping his ankles as entertainment.

Even so, Green Bay's Clay Matthews is flat-out livid about the idea. "You think 'cameras in the locker room' and what does that conjure up images of?" he said in an interview with USA Today. "It's a privacy issue. I know they're trying to give the fans more of an experience, but what more can you do? We do interviews on the sideline, there's social media. You can't leave the parking lot without people swarming your cars. I'm not a fan of it."

Calling the locker room a "sanctuary," Matthews protested that he's been stalked all the way home, and he's unhappy with giving up another layer of personal

Deacon Jones bears down on Dandy Don Meredith in 3... 2... 1... (Getty Images)

To a degree, David "Deacon" Jones' legacy is trapped in game highlights, filmy sack totals, and a long history of soundbites. And on the event of his passing, I think more than ever how unfortunate it is that there wasn't NFL Game Rewind, readily available All-22 tape available to the public, and ceaseless dissemination of every single game during Jones' era -- he played with the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and Washington Redskins from 1961 through 1974, when the NFL was still groping for an identity. Jones helped to forge that identity, but his real legacy lives on in the men who saw him play, and know just how important he was to the game.

Jones is credited, per the Rams' media guide, with 173.5 career sacks. But since sack totals weren't officially kept by the league until 1982, one doesn't really know how many he had. Like Satchel Paige's win totals, Deacon Jones' sack totals reflect a mixture of reality and legend.

If you really want to get a sense of how much Jones revolutionized the way defense is played, listen to the men who saw him, and are qualified to speak on the subject.

"Deacon was the first prototypical outside speed-power rusher in the history of the league," Bill Parcells told Jim Corbett of USA Today on Tuesday. "He was formidable at what he did, could do things physically to you. And then, he also could out-maneuver you with speed. He was the first of those dynamic pass rushers everybody in the league is looking for now.''

Parcells, who basically invented the modern pass-rushing outside linebacker in 1981 when he was the New York Giants' defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, and the G-Men selected Lawrence Taylor in the first round of that draft, was able to easily tie Jones' ascent through the 1960s as the advent of the 4-3 defensive end as a dominant force. When Jones started to make a ripple, pro football was less than a decade out from Tom Landry's invention of the modern four-man front concept, and Jones used his edge speed and pure strength -- uncommon to this day for his 6-foot-5, 275-pound frame -- to bring edge pressure on a play-to-play basis as a defensive ideal.

Jim Harbaugh's been getting around since the Super Bowl. The onetime "Saved By The Bell" guest recently drove the pace car at the Indy 500, and here he is in the courtroom of ... Judge Judy? What the heck?

Harbaugh's on record as being a big Judge Judy fan. "When you lie in Judge Judy's courtroom, it's over," Harbaugh said in February at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. "Your credibility is completely lost and you stand no chance of winning that case. So I learned that from her. It's very powerful and true. If somebody lies to you, how can you trust anything they ever say after that?"

So in an episode that aired Monday, Harbaugh and his father hung out in the courtroom and ended up in some reaction shots. In between cases, they played cards with the judge, and a fine time was had by all.

Let's hope he treated her with more respect than he's treated others tasked with rendering judgement.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

DeSean Jackson is focused on 2013 (USA Today Sports Images)

Word broke late last week that Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson had parted ways with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. With music being one of Jackson's interests — he has his own record label — reports surfaced that Jackson was looking to partner with Jay-Z, who has opened up his own sports representation agency, Roc Nation.

No so fast, says Jackson.

"I’m not really speaking on that. I just think that’s a very personal issue," Jackson said of his agent change, according to Tim McManus of Phillymag.com "[As far as] Jay-Z and Roc Nation and all that other stuff, I’m really not entertaining any of that right now. I’m just focused on having a great season and the time is right I’ll be picking another agent. Right now is not the right time for that."

Jackson, 26, caught 45 passes for 700 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games in 2012, the least productive of his five seasons in the NFL. Jackson, who was signed to a five-year, $48.25 million contract last March, missed the final five games of the season due to fractured ribs.

According to McManus, Jackson has spent time running the second- and even third-team offense, a situation that prompted him to seek clarity with a face-to-face chat with first-year head coach Chip Kelly. Now that Jackson understands what's expected of him, he's fully on-board with Kelly's offense.

"I think one of the biggest reasons was the offense was kind of new to myself and I never really had to learn every position in the offense [under former head coach Andy Reid]," said Jackson. "At the beginning of the process I didn’t know the full offense and I didn’t know every play, so that probably had to do with why I was moved to different teams and things like that. Now I am all-in on the offense and I’m very familiar with the whole system. It’s a good thing that I am able to learn that and know what everyone is doing instead of one person."