Ray Lewis claims the Baltimore Ravens were close to signing Colin Kaepernick until his girlfriend posted a "racist" tweet featuring Lewis and owner Steve Bisciotti.

"We were going to close the deal to sign him," Lewis said on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" on Tuesday night. "Steve Bisciotti said, 'I want to hear Colin Kaepernick speak to let me know that he wants to play football.'"

"And it never happens because that picture comes up the next day."

Nessa Diab compared a picture of Lewis hugging Bisciotti to a scene from "Django Unchained," in which Samuel L. Jackson as a loyal house slave held Leonardo DiCaprio's cruel plantation owner character.

"His girl [Diab] goes out and put out this racist gesture and doesn't know we are in the back office about to try to get this guy signed," Lewis said. "Steve Bisciotti has said it himself: 'How can you crucify Ray Lewis when Ray Lewis is the one calling for Colin Kaepernick?'"

Lewis was asked whether the Ravens would have signed Kaepernick if not for the tweet.

"Then he's flying him to Baltimore," Lewis said. "I am sitting with all three of them and we are all having a conversation about bringing Colin Kaepernick in."