Director of Legacy Engagement Matt Little spawned the idea to send custom whistles, wanting to help celebrate the Legends for their post-career contributions. Little originally budgeted for 50 whistles. After sending out surveys to former players, he was more than happy to learn that the figure nearly tripled.
"The whistles are just a small token from the Ravens to let our legends know we are thinking about them as they start their seasons, we are proud of them, and we are cheering for them on and off the field," Little said.
Hall of Famer Ed Reed has received plenty of those cheers throughout his life. To this day, Reed still calls himself "a park baby," having spent countless hours playing sports outside growing up. Now the offensive coordinator at Chamblee (Ga.) High School, Reed has always had a coach's heart.
"I was always around players and coaches," Reed said. "My dad and [my family] were players and coaches, so I already knew [how] to be a player and a coach. Coaching is just in me."
Torrey Smith is another Ravens legend to receive a whistle. He's the head coach of his son's youth tackle team in West Baltimore. Like Reed and Zbikowski, Smith's hoping he can make a positive change in his players' lives.
"It's been fun. It's been rewarding," Smith said. "If you had told me when I retired that I would spend as much time doing this, I would've said absolutely not. But it's something that I've really enjoyed, being able to share the game with the kids, and even more than that, share the lessons with them about understanding what the game meant for me."
Nine former Ravens are coaching in the NFL. Other former Ravens to receive the commemorative whistles include: