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Matt Ryan’s draft stock just went up a little bit.
According to Adam Schefter of NFL Network, Ravens quarterback Steve McNair has informed the team that he will retire. He told coach John Harbaugh and G.M. Ozzie Newsome of his decision last night.
The Ravens have since issued a release announcing the move, and scheduling a press conference for 1:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday.
The move leaves the Ravens with Kyle Boller and Troy Smith as the top two guys on the depth chart.
And while it’s good that the Ravens knew about McNair’s plans before the draft, it would have been better for the team to keep things quiet until after the draft, so that other teams wouldn’t suspect that the Ravens are hot for any of the quarterback prospects.
Unless that’s what the Ravens want teams to think.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I doubt this changes anything in terms of what teams were thinking going into the draft. Everyone and their brother knew the Ravens are looking for a new QB next year. Even if McNair did hang around he would have been garbage, that is if he would have even been able to stay on the field for more than a handful of games.
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April 17th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
One of the most overrated players in NFL history. In 10 years, I never saw the guy do anything that made me say “gee, I sure wish my Seahawks had McNair.”
The Ravens are better off without him.
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April 17th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
It’s about time McNair made this decision. He was absolutely dreadful last year, and like one of the comments above said: Boller was the better QB.
I truly believe Boller IS the answer at QB for the Ravens, and that knowing he’s the guy would only make him that much better.
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April 17th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
He was a great player and a class act. It is too bad he got hurt before he could make up for a bad playoff game. He should be getting more respect. The Ravens will not be better off without him, but the cap room his retirement creates will help us.
Perhaps we can sign Ocho Stinko if the Bungles let him buy his way out of the dumpster of the NFL franchises.
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April 17th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I also hope the Ravens commit to Kyle Boller. But I’m a Browns fan.
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April 17th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Matt Ryan will never make it to number 8 in the draft and the Patriots will make sure of that. If Ryan is on the board at 7, he’ll be dealt in exchange for another team’s first round pick and a second or a third. Ryan will probably be gone before 7. But he won’t slip past 7.
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April 17th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Osiris33, your mind is too simple. You have to look at Steve McNair’s entire career. He had a great one. He even won the co-MVP with Peyton Manning. He led his team to a near Super Bowl victory. His skills deteriorated at the end. That is not uncommon.
Yeah, like Florio said, it would have been better to wait until after the NFL draft for the Baltimore Ravens to disclose information regarding McNair’s pending retirement as to not attract attention for the upcoming draft.
Saying that, the Ravens aren’t going after a first round quarterback. They have two young QBs.
And DwayneRudd, the Ravens should commit to a quarterback, like you said. You happened to pick the wrong one. Kyle Boller stinks. He will always stink. The answer to your comment is Troy Smith.
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April 17th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
How much cap room does this leave the Ravens? Enough to sign Suggs long-term?
Personally, Boller’s got to go - he’s a failed project of the Billick era. Make Troy Smith QB day 1, and draft a rookie to learn the ropes.
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April 17th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Farewell Gladiator. Yes, your last two seasons hurt to watch but you tried, and who should fault that? To you glib used-to-bes (though I doubt it)and wannabes who have posted smart-ass comments, take a look in the mirror and tell us, are you a man on the same level, character-wise as Steve McNair? He was a great athlete. He should be honored rather than besmirched.
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April 17th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
He retired five years ago.
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April 17th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Anyone that thinks that McNair was good for the Ravens is silly. Name one game for them that he went out and dominated? He didn’t. It was stupid of them to give up a 3rd round pick(I think) and two years of the franchise to a guy who was washed up. The major problem at QB was the jackass of a coach, with that guy out of the way, I look for Boller or Smith to come into their own.
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April 17th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
This doesn’t really change much of Baltimore’s planing. They knew that his game has declined too much to be a quality starter. Chances were that it’d end up like last year; play 6 or 7 games, get hurt and have KB or a draft pick take over.
That being said, McNair has done a lot for the game, and I’m sad to see him go. Just yet another example of a body broken down before its time.
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April 17th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I agree with Chris from MD. McNair was a drain on the team, aside from a couple of good games against the Steelers, Chiefs, and Saints. The rest of the time, he looked dazed and confused. He was the slowest QB I’ve ever seen getting up to the line of scrimmage, he refused to work out in the off season to help extend his career and possibly reduce further injuries, he didn’t appear to be the brightest bulb in the pack, and, in tandem with CompuCoach Brain Billick (misspelling intentional) he was a disaster (i.e. he holds the dubious record for the most passes for the least yards in the history of the NFL) and he would have been a disaster this year had he not retired. Let’s see what coach Harbaugh and OC Cam Cameron can do with Boller and Smith. This scenario is so much better than a Billick/McNair nightmare I don’t even care how many games the Ravens win in 2008. At least they’re now on the road to somewhere, vs. going nowhere fast.
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April 17th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
From the standpoint of a Steeler fan, I have to agree with Dwayne Rudd. I hope Baltimore goes with Boller.
I always liked McNair. I don’ t how any football fan who saw him at least twice a year couldn’t at least respect him. He was a class act and a fighter. He always made me nervous with the ball in his hands.
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April 17th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
brian_21, that co-MVP thing was totally political. There wasn’t a GM in the league who would have taken Manning over McNair, including the Titans GM. That doesn’t mean anything.
Again, show me the footage of all the great throws. Show me the stats with big numbers. Show me the big games in the playoffs.
I just don’t see it. I never did.
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April 17th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
M. ost oV. errated P. layer
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April 17th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Kerry Collins and Steve McNair were drafted the same year. McNair has 4 more career starts than Collins. Collins has 3413 more yards passing. They have the exact same number of TD passes, 174. They both led a team to a Super Bowl.
McNair also had the advantage of sitting and learning for 2 seasons, before becoming a starter in year 3. Collins was thrown to the wolves, starting 13 games as a rookie on an expansion team in it’s first season. McNair also had the advantage of playing on better teams for virtually his entire career. Collins was asked to make things happen on mostly bad teams. McNair got to hand the ball to Eddie George and manage games backed up by a tough defense.
They have had pretty similar careers yet somehow Collins is regarded as a journeyman, and McNair gets talked about as an all time great.
McNair is extremely overrated. He was never more than a decent starter. Just like Collins.
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April 17th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
He was good not great, tough but I always questioned his conditioning. Playing behind low-technique masher lines can help that deterioration along, however…
I think the D pushed that team into the playoffs, not McN dragging them, in 06. They didnt lose the playoff game because the D got rung up.
They failed like a lot of teams, they got all old at once. Ray-ray isnt the same either. They have a few holes… That OL tanked in one year.
I think Boller isnt THAT bad. He did a load better than McN last year. I expect as time goes on he will be one of those guys like Testaverde, too. After several years and systems… guess what… you done seen it all.
It is too early to say Smith will do anything. Lets see starts 3 and up.
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April 18th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Oh yea, I forgot about that pity MVP they gave Mcnair
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