Free agent linebacker Ray Lewis is reportedly interested in signing with the Jets, who hired former Ravens’ defensive coordinator Rex Ryan to be their next head coach.

“You can take a young Jets team that has a lot of talent across the board when you try to wiggle (No.) 52 into that equation somewhere or other than that team goes from just being OK to, let’s just win this,” Lewis said. “That scenario by itself is always attractive. That’s a great opportunity, reason being we (he and Ryan) have been together for years.

Lewis, who has played all 13 of his seasons with the Ravens and is a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is joined on the unrestricted free-agent list with fellow Baltimore linebackers Terrrell Suggs and Bart Scott.

Though the Jets are believed to be too close to the salary cap, undoubtedly Ryan is looking at the possibility of bringing some familiar faces to the Jets to bolster his new defense.

“It sounds right, you know, if something does happen where I don’t go back to Baltimore, then the Jets want me,” Lewis said. “Baltimore is my city, that’s where I grind at. That’s where I’ve been my whole life.”

Lewis recently stated that he wouldn’t take a hometown discount to stay in Baltimore, so you get the feeling that his Ravens’ career is finished. Baltimore simply has too many free agents to offer Lewis a lucrative, long-term contract. Either the Jets or Cowboys (who reportedly are willing to shell out big bucks to land Lewis) seem like logical fits for the aging veteran.