Ravens' Ray Lewis tells Haloti Ngata, 'I'll be back'

Ray Lewis' future has been a topic of much speculation since the 17th-year NFL veteran suffered a torn triceps Sunday that landed him on the Baltimore Ravens' injured reserve list, at least for now.

However one of his defensive teammates believes the 13-time Pro Bowler will be back at some point, though whether he believes it's later this year — the Ravens have the option of activating Lewis off IR later in the season — or in 2013 isn't clear.

"I believe and he believes he will be back," Baltimore all-pro defensive lineman Haloti Ngata told NFL Network's Melissa Stark. "Just knowing him, talking to him a day ago, (he was saying) 'I'll be back, don't worry.' "

Appropriate that Lewis, who once described himself as a "machine" on the field, is borrowing lines from The Terminator.

But triceps tears are usually season killers and have already claimed other NFL players like Levi Brown, Eugene Amano and Ty Warren this season, so it's hard to envision Lewis returning before next year.

"I don't know what other guys believe, but I definitely believe he will be back," said Ngata, who's battling a knee injury himself.

"Knowing the work ethic he has, he is going to work his butt off to get back on the field with us."