Official: Ravens acquire McNair

[The Poz]

Ravens | Team acquires McNair
Wed, 7 Jun 2006 11:35:42 -0700

Jay Glazer, of FOXSports.com, reports the Baltimore Ravens have acquired Tennessee Titans QB Steve McNair in exchange for their fourth-round draft pick. The trade is contingent on McNair passing a physical with the team.

4th rounder, wow. Now McNair & D. Mason will be re-united :hump:

[DMAC]

I would say that is a pretty good deal right there.

[ct]

That's a good deal for both teams. Poor Kyle Boller. ROFL

[Rooster]

It's about freaking time. Now if Law would just sign with someone. :rolleyes:

[Kerberos]

That 4th rounder can become a 3rd rounder if playing time and conditions are met. Lets face it he will probably meet them.


After an offseason of not being able to work out in the Titans facility, Steve McNair is finally going to have a new office to call home -- in Baltimore.

Profile
2005 SEASON STATISTICS
Att Comp Yds TD Int Rat
476 292 3027 16 11 82.4

Pending a physical, McNair is on his way to Baltimore in a trade that is believed to involve a fourth-round choice in 2007. Those were terms that have been discussed for the past several weeks between the two teams. There is a possibility the draft pick could become a third-round choice depending on his playing time and performance in 2006.

The Titans released a statement Wednesday that spelled out McNair's departure. ``We have granted permission to Baltimore to give Steve McNair a physical, which we expect to take place in the next 24 hours,'' the Titans said in statement. ``Upon passing a physical, final trade terms will be agreed upon."

The trade ends one of the strangest exits of a franchise quarterback in recent NFL history. McNair, a 10-year institution with the Titans who helped take the team to a Super Bowl, had to win a grievance against the Titans to be allowed in the facility because the team feared an injury. McNair, considered a warrior who fought through numerous injuries to play during his 10-year career, had a $23 million cap number and the team didn't want him to be hurt and then be stuck with the high salary cap number.

After winning the grievance, the Titans informed him last week that he failed the team physical at the end of last season and needed to take another physical in order to return to the team. McNair and his agent, Bus Cook, were in the process of trying to schedule that physical when the team decided to let him go the Ravens.

During the second day of the NFL draft in April, the Titans gave Cook permission to talk to the Ravens about a new contract. Cook worked out a deal that gave him an $11 million signing bonus and a $1 million base salary. That was more than the $9 million he was scheduled to make in base salary for the Ravens in 2006.

In acquiring McNair, the Ravens feel they have received the final piece of the puzzle that could enable them to challenge the Steelers and the Bengals for the NFC North title. The 33-year-old McNair was the third pick in the 1995 draft and the Titans did the right thing in grooming him for greatness.

They only let him start six games during his first two seasons in Houston. By his third season, McNair was a starter in which the franchise was able to start building a winner. His completion percentage and quarterback rating kept improving as the team improve around him.

He went to the Pro Bowl in 2000 and 2003.

Though Kyle Boller is currently the Ravens starting quarterback, McNair goes to the team with enough time for him to win the starting job and try to take the team to the playoffs. He reunites with two former Titans -- wide receiver Derrick Mason and cornerback Samari Rolle. Mason and Rolle signed with the Ravens last year.

For McNair, the trade ends a tough exit from the Titans. While he thought he was going to have to take a Thursday physical in Nashville for a team that no longer wanted him, McNair can take a Thursday physical with a Raven team that has waited the entire offseason to get him.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2474267

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[DaKCMan AP]

If healthy, McNair makes Baltimore an automatic contendor.

[58-4ever]

If healthy, McNair makes Baltimore an automatic contendor.

That remains to be seen.

[milkman]

If healthy, McNair makes Baltimore an automatic contendor.

That is the problem.

He's a tough SOB, except for the fact that he's always nursing some kind of injury.

[cdcox]

If healthy, McNair makes Baltimore an automatic contendor.

Yup. The QB position has really held them back the last couple of years.

[CoMoChief]

Yup. The QB position has really held them back the last couple of years.


They also need to run the football better and get healthy on defense.

[Sure-Oz]

Well Kyle Boller knows his role now with Baltimore.

[Kerberos]

Well Kyle Boller knows his role now with Baltimore.


Yup ... Make a few million to carry a clip board and be ready when Steve has a bruise on his sternum.

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[MVChiefFan]

I don't know what that does to the Titans salary cap but if it freed up a bunch of money then they may be back in the Ty Law hunt. I guess then we'll really see if it's all about the money or playing for a contender because you know the Titans are going to suck ass. My guess is it's all about the money since he already has a championship.

[Mile High Mania]

Wow, this sucks if McNair is healthy all season... Heap, Lewis, Anderson and his old buddy at receiver, Derek Mason. That could be good.

[DaKCMan AP]

Wow, this sucks if McNair is healthy all season... Heap, Lewis, Anderson and his old buddy at receiver, Derek Mason. That could be good.

Don't forget Mark Clayton.

[Kerberos]

From ESPN Insider. A look at what this could do for Boller good or bad. And for the Ravens as a team.


The Ravens' pending trade of Steve McNair benefits Baltimore in multiple ways.

The most obvious benefit is that McNair will represent a significant upgrade over Kyle Boller, though surprisingly, McNair's 2005 metrics weren't much better than Boller's. McNair averaged 6.9 yards per catchable attempt last season, while Boller averaged 6.8.

So why were McNair's numbers so low last year?

Steve McNair
Quarterback
Tennessee Titans

Profile
2005 SEASON STATISTICS
Att Comp Yds TD Int Rat
476 292 3027 16 11 82.4

One of the main reasons McNair's 2005 numbers were down was because of the Titans' change in offensive philosophy. Tennessee went from the vertically-inclined Mike Heimerdinger offense to the Norm Chow short pass-oriented offense. This had a huge effect on McNair's vertical pass attempts. McNair threw only 46 deep passes (20-plus yards) in his 14 starts last year, an average of just over three deep attempts per game. In 2004, the Titans averaged nearly seven deep pass attempts per game, or about twice as often as in 2005.

The Titans also had so many injuries at the wide receiver position last season that McNair ended up throwing the bulk of his passes to his trio of tight ends. To illustrate how this hurt McNair's numbers, consider that the the highest-rated Titan receiver in TYPCA was Erron Kinney with 7.6 yards. Kinney would have ranked third on the Ravens, behind both Derrick Mason and Todd Heap.

Brian Billick's history suggests that he will pass the ball deep when he has the quarterback and receivers to do so. I fully expect that McNair's 2006 deep pass attempts will likely double his 2005 numbers, and his total yards per attempt also will significantly increase.

Another benefit of this trade could be its effect on Boller. This move might seem to be the beginning of the end of the Boller era in Baltimore, but I think Billick is using this to motivate Boller in the only way that seems to work.

Boller seems to suffer from the Drew Brees syndrome. Brees floundered as a starter in San Diego for two seasons. His coaches had given him multiple warnings that he had to play better or lose his job. None of this seemed to motivate Brees to take the necessary steps to improve his play and the Chargers finally had to give up on him.

All of that changed once the Chargers drafted Philip Rivers and Brees truly faced professional extinction. He suddenly got his act together, got a second chance because of Rivers' training camp holdout, and used that chance to develop into a Pro Bowl quarterback.

Boller's history suggests that he requires the same type of motivation. This was illustrated very clearly last season. Boller was injured in Week 1 and didn't return until Week 10. Once he returned, Boller alternated between good and bad performances until he imploded at Denver in Week 14.

Kyle Boller
Quarterback
Baltimore Ravens

Profile
2005 SEASON STATISTICS
Att Comp Yds TD Int Rat
293 171 1653 11 12 71.7

In the Denver game, Boller threw two interceptions that ended potential scoring drives. One of those was a pass that he blindly chucked up into coverage when he could have thrown the ball out of bounds and salvaged a Ravens' field goal attempt. He also lost a fumble on a scramble run despite not being touched by a Broncos defender. Boller already had been put on notice that his last few games were going to determine if he kept his starting job in 2006, and his Denver debacle seemed to cinch his fate.

Now that he was faced with the prospect of truly losing his job, Boller did an about face. Through Week 14, Boller was averaging a measly 6.2 yards per catchable attempt. He exploded for 9.8 yards per attempt in the next two games, including a Monday Night thrashing of Green Bay. These two games seemed to give him hope that he could keep the starting job, until in Week 17 Boller laid an egg and got only 5.0 yards per attempt and threw two interceptions in a loss at Cleveland.

Boller's teammates seem to suggest that he performs better when he has to compete for his job, and these games offer convincing proof. If McNair's presence can get Boller to take the same kind of turn that Brees did, Billick might get more out of this trade than just a one-year fix


http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/columns/story?columnist=joyner_kc&id=2473831

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[Skyy God]

Draft Drew Bennett now.

As for Titan fans, welcome to another 4-12 season.

[tk13]

This will get them a lot of preseason hype. Their division is pretty tough though. Gotta leap Pittsburgh and Cincy. Cleveland will probably continue to get better too.

[cdcox]

I just dropped the news to my buddy who's a Steelers fan. He was pissed. :evil:

[Spicy McHaggis]

Good for McNair. I've always been a fan of his and the Titans treated him like a red-headed stepchild this past year. (No offense to anyone that is a redhead, a stepchild or a combination of the two.) McNair would have been the ideal mentor for someone like Young.

That said I think Volek is an underrated QB who could be a starter on a number of NFL teams.

[Rooster]

If healthy, McNair makes Baltimore an automatic contendor.

I agree, if healthy, he will help those guys out a lot. If Jamal Lewis can come back into his own the Ravens might have something cooking.

[HC_Chief]

heh, two crappy teams trading one crappy player for a mediocre pick.

At least it's football ;)

[listopencil]

"McNair averaged 6.9 yards per catchable attempt last season, while Boller averaged 6.8."


Per catchable attempt? Bullshit. You might as well just rate kickers on makeable Field Goals. "Oh darn-Jimmy Petibone missed that 45 yarder that would have won the game...but his stats will show that he's still a 100% kicker this year because that one wasn't makeable. Over to you in the booth, Don."

[keg in kc]

Err McNair.