Baltimore Ravens

NFL star Earl Thomas is lucky to be alive after cops say his wife held a loaded gun less than a foot from his head ... after she allegedly caught him cheating with another woman.

It's all spelled out in court documents obtained by TMZ Sports ... detailing a violent April 13 altercation involving the Baltimore Ravens player, Nina Thomas and several other people.

The Austin Police Dept. responded to a home in the Austin, Texas area at 3:41 AM after getting a call about a disturbance.

When cops arrived, they say "we observed that a black female wearing an orange sweater with a knife in her hand, later identified as Nina Thomas, was chasing a shirtless black male, later identified as Earl Thomas, with a pistol in his hand around a vehicle."

Cops drew their weapons and ordered both Nina and Earl to the ground -- and they complied without incident. That's when the investigation began and things got WILD.

Here's Nina's story, according to court docs ...

Nina claims Earl, 30, left their home earlier in the day after an argument over the NFL player's drinking. She claims Earl's brother, Seth Thomas, picked him up.

But, a short time later, she decided to check on his whereabouts by logging into his Snapchat account -- and that's when she says she found video of Earl with another woman.

Nina says she used Earl's Snapchat account to track his location to a nearby Airbnb rental home ... and says she called up two other women to help her confront Earl at the pad. Nina also claims she grabbed Earl's pistol, a 9mm Berreta, in the process with the intention to "scare him."

When the women arrived at the house, they "discovered Earl and Seth naked in bed with other women."

That's when Nina admits she pulled out the gun and put it to Earl's head -- stating "that she took out the magazine thinking that the gun could not fire." But, cops say Nina was "unaware that the gun had a round in the chamber."

Cops say one of the women in the house shot cell phone video of the incident ... which they say shows Nina pointing the gun at Earl's head "from less than a foot away and it can clearly be seen that Nina's finger was on the trigger and the safety is disengaged."

Fortunately for Earl, cops say the Ravens defensive back was able to wrestle the gun away from her.

Cops say the cell phone video also shows Nina striking Earl in the nose before it ends.

Cops also spoke with Earl, who essentially corroborated the story ... adding that Nina repeatedly hit him while he attempted to take the firearm away.

In an interview with Earl's alleged mistress at the scene, she claimed Nina also threatened her and the other woman in the house -- pointing the gun at them and yelling "I got something for all you hoes!"

The woman claims one of Nina's other friends was carrying a knife and swinging it aggressively during the altercation as well.

After speaking with everyone, cops ultimately arrested Nina and both members of her posse. Nina was booked for burglary of a residence with intent to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon -- family violence, and later bonded out.

Earl was NOT arrested.

Court records show Nina was also hit with an emergency protective order ... requiring her to stay 200 yards away from Earl and his alleged mistress.

As we previously reported, Earl and Nina were married in an extravagant wedding back in April 2016 ... Russell Wilson and Ciara even attended the ceremony.

Earl is one of the best defensive players in the NFL -- he's a 7-time Pro Bowl defensive back who won Super Bowl XLVIII as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

Thomas was a key part of Seattle's legendary "Legion of Boom" -- along with Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor.

When contacted by TMZ Sports, Nina's attorney, Jonathan Goins, told us, "I am here to declare that my client unequivocally and categorically denies these allegations and we look forward to our day in court where we can clear her good name."

We also reached out to Earl Thomas for comment before we published the story -- and he released a statement on social media.

"Instead of talking about us, just keep us in y'all prayers," Thomas says. "Stuff like this happens. We try to live the best lives we possibly can. Sometimes it doesn't go as planned."

WCW legend Rick Steiner says it's pretty damn cool to watch his son sign with the Baltimore Ravens ... telling TMZ Sports the pro wrestling community is already rallying around him with advice!!

Bronson Rechsteiner was a star fullback at Kennesaw State (averaged 8 yards per carry!) and just signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent.

Rick says he couldn't be more proud of his son -- saying it's another huge moment for his famous family!

"I watched him grow up. I watched the sweat and time and effort he puts into what he does and everything he does," Rick says.

"Just to see him totally succeed going to college, totally succeed with rushing yards and catches and everything else. It's just a super, super proud moment for our dad, for me being his father, to see him do that, see him accomplish that and now, take the phone call, take the next steps to be a professional athlete. Pretty cool, man."

Rick says he's already getting calls from his pro wrestler buddies -- some of whom played in the NFL.

"You got guys like Goldberg, who played in the NFL and all these other guys that were in there. I'm just getting a host of texts and emails congratulating me, proud of my son, proud of his accomplishments. Really makes me feel good, ya know."

Bronson tells us Goldberg -- who played with the Atlanta Falcons in the early '90s -- is already giving him some pointers!

Rechsteiner is a BEAST (just like his dad and uncle) -- in fact, he ripped off 35 reps on the bench press at his pro day, which would have been 3rd best at the NFL Combine.

Lamar Jackson is revealing why he decided to take truss and throw some Z's on it -- claiming someone threatened to SUE him over the Ravens' catchphrase!!

TMZ Sports broke the story ... LJ recently filed an application to trademark the term, Truzz, right around the time he got the word tatted across his chest.

Weird move, considering Lamar's Baltimore Ravens teammate, Mark Ingram, had been using the phrase "Big Truss" to reference LJ throughout the 2019 NFL season. Woo Woo!

But, just as we thought, the switch to "Z's" was all about business -- as Lamar explained Tuesday during a video Q&A with fans.

"Someone tried to sue me for Truss," Jackson said ... "So, I changed my S's to Z's."

Lamar claims the person who holds the Truss trademark tried to "make a big deal" out of the situation ... and it was just easier to make the switch to ZZ instead.

Smart!

There's more -- Lamar also shared some major news ... he's officially been selected as the cover athlete for the Madden NFL 21 video game!!!

Lamar Jackson isn't messing around when it comes to building his brand -- he's already trying to lock up the trademark rights for "Truzz" ... the same words he just had tatted on his chest.

Remember, Lamar's Baltimore Ravens teammate, Mark Ingram, began referring to LJ as "Big Truss" during his insane 2019 NFL season ... and the nickname stuck!

But, someone else made a run on the "Big Truss" trademark -- so Lamar called an audible, made some spelling changes ... and now, he's filled an application to own "Truzz," TMZ Sports has learned.

We know Lamar filed the application back in January -- right around the time he got his new body art.

Gotta applaud his creativity and being business savvy!

The new spelling even caught Ingram by surprise -- who says LJ is a "trendsetter" who has a knack for starting popular trends ... "so 2 Zs it is."

There's more ... we also know Jackson filed for several other trademarks -- including:

-- "You are going to get a Bowl out of me, believe that!"

-- "Era 8 By Lamar Jackson"

-- "Not bad for a running back"

Jackson intends to use the trademark for apparel, accessories and sports equipment.

As for LJ's tattoo, we spoke with the artist, Lesly St. Clou, who tells us the ink was done at a private location BEFORE the COVID-19 quarantine began.

He ain't gonna be a Buc ... but could Antonio Brown be heading to the Ravens?!

The controversial NFL free agent was spotted working out with Lamar Jackson and is fellow receiver cousin, Hollywood Brown on Wednesday ... just days after he speculated about heading to Baltimore.

And by looking at the video of their training sesh ... it could be a dangerous combo.

Of course, AB has been looking for a new home after getting cut by the Patriots early last season ... while the NFL currently investigates sexual assault allegations made by his former trainer.

Even though he could be facing suspension, there's still tons of talks surrounding where Brown will end up after the dust settles.

Although AB has always wanted to reunite with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians has gone on record saying they're not gonna bring Brown in.

When asked about teaming up with Lamar and the Ravens on IG Live a few days ago ... AB said it would be a "scary (sight)" -- so it's VERY interesting to see him work out with Jackson.

Lamar Jackson says Amazon is selling clothes that are straight-up rip-offs of his nicknames and persona ... and now, the NFL MVP is suing the corporate giant over it all.

Jackson -- according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports -- says Amazon is selling T-shirts and hoodies that he claims the company shouldn't be allowed to sell.

The Baltimore Ravens QB says he's seen Lamarvelous shirts, Action Jackson tees and Not Bad For A Running Back hoodies -- among other items -- that all "pirate" his brand and "use his name, likeness, image and persona for commercial gain without permission."

Of course, throughout his electric 2019 season in Baltimore ... Jackson embraced those nicknames and phrases -- and even sold clothes of his own with those monikers on them.

But, Jackson says the alleged knock-off items are killing his ability to make profits off the nicknames and images ... claiming in the suit Amazon is confusing the public into thinking he's somehow involved with the knockoffs.

Lamar says the sale of the knockoff items on Amazon have caused him irreparable harm ... and now he wants the company to pay up for hurting the value of his personal brand.

THIS IS SOOOOOOOO GROSS/AWESOME!!!

Baltimore Ravens starting OL Bradley Bozeman ate 4.5 POUNDS of steak -- PLUS FIXINGS -- at dinner Wednesday night ... and the dude hardly broke a sweat!!!

The epic meal went down in Amarillo, Texas at "The Big Texan Steak Ranch" ... where Lamar Jackson's personal protector decided to take on the restaurant's famous food challenge.

Here's the deal ... ya gotta kill a 72-ounce steak, a shrimp cocktail, a baked potato, a salad and a roll with butter in under 1 hour -- and winners get a FREE T-SHIRT (plus, the meal is free and you get your name on the wall).

Bozeman -- a 6'5", 317-pound NFL stud -- happily accepted the challenge ... and you can see in video of him chowing down, he CRUSHED it!!!

The 25-year-old finished every last bite, with more than 10 minutes to spare ... and afterward, he didn't look any worse for wear at all!!

Of course, when we spoke with Bozeman hours after the meal ... he wasn't feelin' all that hot about it, telling us, "That was definitely the hardest thing I've ever had to eat."

By the way, the reason Bozeman was in the North Texas town was pretty cool ... he and his wife, Nikki, had just finished a successful stop on their country-wide tour of schools to speak to kids about the dangers of bullying.

Up next for the Bozemans is a speaking engagement at a school in Albuquerque, N.M. ... but Bozeman says there's absolutely NO CHANCE he has another steak there.

Retired NFL superstar Chris Johnson says he's still so fast ... he could beat Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson in a race TODAY!!!

The former Tennessee Titans running back told the guys on "TMZ Sports" (airing weeknights on FS1) he has zero doubts about it too ... saying, "Yeah, I beat him right now."

It's a WILD statement from the 34-year-old ... considering nobody has been able to catch up to Lamar at all this season (the guy has 1,206 rushing yards on just 176 carries).

But, Johnson swears he's still got wheels ... remember, he told us back in March he could still get his 40-yard dash time down to a 4.2!!!

Lamar Jackson put on an MVP caliber season in 2019 and NOBODY saw it coming ... that is, nobody except Larry David, who says he personally called the Jets and told them to draft the QB in 2018!!

And, guess what then-GM Mike Maccagnan did after David gave his two cents??? HE LAUGHED.

Of course, the "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" mastermind is a HUUUUGE Jets fan ... and joined "The Michael Kay Show" on Tuesday to talk all things New York sports.

That's when David pointed out his beloved 7-9 Jets might have had a better season if the team had taken his call seriously.

"I did call Mike Maccagnan before the 2018 draft and I recommended that he draft Lamar Jackson. I have a witness," David said ... and Maccagnan's reaction has gotta put a bad taste in NY fans' mouths.

"He kinda gave me the most condescending ... he laughed at me. But, who can blame him?"

David admits he's guilty of calling the team in the past -- he also recommended the Jets draft Reggie Bush in 2006. They didn't.

As for Jackson, he led the Baltimore Ravens to the top playoff seed in the AFC and posted incredible numbers -- passing for 3,127 yards and 36 TDs ... and rushing for 1,206 yards and 7 TDs. Some would say that's "pretty, pretty, pretty good."

Jamal Lewis says he's giving the slight edge to his 2000 Ravens team in a hypothetical matchup against this year's Baltimore squad -- and it's all 'cause of Ray Lewis!

We got the ex-Ravens RB out at LAX on Monday and we just had to ask ... who would win in a tilt -- his 2000 Baltimore Super Bowl team, or this season's squad?

Of course, the '00 Ravens are considered one of the greatest of all-time ... with their defense STACKED with legends.

But, this year's Ravens team is also considered one of the best ever -- mostly because of Lamar Jackson's insane running ability.

So, who would win? Lewis says he's pretty sure it'd be a stalemate ... but then appeared to give his old team the advantage.

"We did have Ray Lewis," Jamal said with a laugh, "So, we might be able to stop Lamar."

Of course, the hypothetical matchup will only be a thing if the Ravens can finish off this year. They get the Tennessee Titans on Saturday and will likely have to play the KC Chiefs for a spot in the Super Bowl the following week.

Don "Wink" Martindale, listen up ... the OG Wink Martindale wants tickets to a Ravens game ASAP as payment for letting ya snag his nickname!!!

We got the legendary personality out at Craig's this month ... and when we asked him about Baltimore's defensive coordinator borrowing his famous moniker, Wink was HILARIOUS with our photog.

"I think I'm gonna sue him for using my name!" Wink said with a laugh, before adding, "I love it! I love it! I get mentioned on Ravens games, I love it!"

But, even though Wink is all kinds of down to hear his name at NFL games, he still would like to see some ROI ... and says tickets to watch Lamar Jackson up close would do the trick!

"Get the word to him," Wink says. "I want an invite!"

Bad news for the Ravens' Wink? There's only one home game left for Baltimore in the regular season ... which means the DC might have to pony up for playoff tix in January.

No one was happier about Lamar Jackson breaking Mike Vick's QB rushing record ... than Mike Vick!!!

The Baltimore Ravens quarterback passed Vick for the #1 spot on the single season rushing record for a QB on Thursday night, moving past Vick's 1,039 yards from the 2006 season.

Jackson was only 23 yards shy going into the Jets game -- and smashed it -- finishing with 1,103 on the season ... and he's still got 2 games to go!

Mike Vick, who's been praising Jackson all season, immediately made a congratulatory video for the young superstar.

"Congratulations Lamar, we knew it was coming man!"

"Like I said, you was the guy for the job. You did it and you did it well. Keep rushing and set the bar high man!"

"It's gonna be an amazing run for you. Appreciate everything you do for the game."

Jackson, to his credit, seemed more interested in getting the victory than breaking the record ... and spelled it out during a hilarious post-game interview with Erin Andrews.

His running back/hype man, Mark Ingram, eventually took over the interview -- and it was GOLD!!! Check out the dancing teammate in the background!

Could you imagine a young Doug Flutie playing in today's NFL? He can ... and the ex-QB says he's convinced he woulda crushed it -- pointing to Lamar Jackson as proof!

"I just wish I could play in the NFL today with these spread offenses, quarterback runs and all that," Flutie says ... "It would be a blast! It would be a little more suited to me."

Flutie was a human highlight reel back in the day ... he won the Heisman Trophy in 1984 and then played pro football until 2005!!!

He could run. He could throw. He even kicked a field goal!!!

So, when Flutie sees another amazing athlete like Lamar Jackson KILLING IT as a QB ... he LOVES EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!

"Lamar Jackson is unbelievable. I was a running QB. He's an elite tailback if he wants to! He's amazing! His shiftiness, his pure speed and then he has the ability to really throw the football too!"

"The other way to stop a QB that runs is loading up the box and leave 'em one-on-one coverage ... and he can make those throws out there, so he's really tough to defend."

Flutie says he's incredibly proud of his fellow Heisman winner and admits, "I love the way he's doing it because it makes me validate some of the stuff I did."

It's a really cool clip.

And get this, Doug is bringing back his famous Flutie Flakes breakfast cereal ... and he's telling TMZ Sports the story about bringing it back after 20 years!

A high percentage of the proceeds will go toward Doug's charity -- the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism -- a cause very dear to his heart.

Lamar Jackson's breakout season has officially reached the Vatican City ... 'cause Pope Francis was just gifted a personalized Ravens jersey signed by the superstar QB!!!

Baltimore Archbishop William Lori was bearing gifts when he hit up Rome this week ... handing the pontiff his very own "Francis #8" jersey with Jackson and John Harbaugh's signatures on it!!!

Jackson has been playing outta his mind this season ... with a combined 32 total touchdowns, 2,532 passing yards and 977 rushing yards. Now that the pope has the dude on his radar, you might as well hand him the MVP trophy now.

Sorry, Russell Wilson ... maybe next year.

Of course, Pope Francis has been showing a lot of bias lately ... remember when he accidentally tweeted support for the New Orleans Saints earlier this season???

Here's the most fighting the Rams did all night Monday ...

Jalen Ramsey had to be restrained by several L.A. Rams staffers after he and Marcus Peters nearly came to blows just minutes after the Ravens beat the hell out of JR's squad.

The game was wild ... the Rams couldn't stop Lamar Jackson at all in a 45-6 blowout -- and when Peters started ballin' out, he trash-talked Jalen like crazy.

Cameras caught the Ravens cornerback screaming across the sideline at Jalen ... and then they later filmed him mocking Ramsey's celebration after an interception.

It all spilled over into a near brawl at midfield after the final whistle ... when the two were in a heated screaming match.

Eventually, the guys were separated -- with Ramsey having to be essentially carried all the way to his locker room up the tunnel at the L.A. Coliseum.

At one point, Peters reportedly told Ramsey, "[We] kicked y’all ass out the playoffs."

Unclear why the two have such bad beef -- although it seems Peters is pretty pissed after the Rams traded him to Baltimore last month and then acquired Jalen only a few hours later.

Peters did NOT address the media after the incident ... and Ramsey refused to take questions from reporters over it all, saying, "I ain't going to answer no BS."

As for their team's standings ... Ramsey's Rams are pretty much dead after Monday's L -- while Peters' Ravens are now the Super Bowl favorites.

Just call him Raystradamus ... 'cause Ray Lewis tells TMZ Sports he was positive Lamar Jackson would be a beast in the NFL, saying he even predicted it to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti back in 2018!!!

"I was telling him about this draft," Lewis says. "I was like, 'Listen. You don't know what you got in Lamar Jackson, but I watched that kid his ENTIRE career. He has an 'it' factor!'"

Ray -- who spoke with us on the set of Showtime's "Inside the NFL" -- tells us he's a HUGE college football fan ... and watched a ton of Lamar while the quarterback was tearing up defenses at Louisville.

Ray says it didn't take him long to determine the guy would be an NFL superstar, telling us, "There's a number of athletes that come around in generations that have an 'it' factor."

"He has an 'it' factor."

As for what "it" is, Lewis says it's simple -- "It's, 'I make everybody around me better.'"

Lewis says he and Jackson actually have a good personal relationship as well ... telling us he hosted Jackson at his home shortly after the Ravens drafted him 2018.

"We sat out back by my pool and I just gave him all this insight about what life is and what he can do in Baltimore and how he can change the culture."