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The Baltimore Ravens currently have three quarterbacks on their roster, but that number will likely be down to two by the time the regular season starts.
For the last two seasons, the Ravens have only carried two quarterbacks on their active roster. Since 2011, Joe Flacco and Tyrod Taylor have been the two quarterbacks the Ravens have trusted to run their offense.
Taylor has played in 10 games with zero starts in his career. He has 30 pass attempts with zero touchdowns and one interception. Obviously those numbers aren’t very good, but don’t take it to mean that Taylor isn’t talented.
For the Ravens to make Taylor their only backup tells you they feel really good about his ability to be an NFL quarterback. No matter how good as Flacco is, he’s one play away from getting injured.
And if Taylor wasn’t that good, wouldn’t Baltimore have someone else lined up behind Flacco?
Another reason Baltimore sticks with only two quarterbacks is due to Flacco’s durability. Since his rookie season in 2008, Flacco has started every one of Baltimore’s 93 games (regular season and post season).
In those games, Flacco has won 63 and lost 30, creating a winning percentage of 70.
Since the win at Pittsburgh in 2011 when he led the team on a 92-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes, the Ravens have been winning more because of Flacco.
If you want to think he’s not that good and can be replaced, that’s your right.
But here’s a thought: Byron Leftwich is the best free-agent quarterback currently on the market.
Okay then. What about next year? Flacco signed a $120.6 million deal, but $29 million of it is guaranteed. What about Matt Ryan?
Um, no chance. And for two very important reasons.
First of all, Atlanta won’t let him go.
Second of all, do you really want to start over with a quarterback who is 1-4 in the playoffs (1-3 in the playoffs at home)?
I wouldn’t want to.
If there was a chance the Ravens let Flacco go it would be before the 2016 season. For the next three seasons, Flacco’s cap number is below $15 million. In 2016, Flacco’s cap number will be $28.55 million.
Sure, Baltimore will likely re-structure the deal. But in the off-chance they decide to part ways with Flacco, here are the premier quarterbacks scheduled to hit free agency in 2016: Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson.
Those first three quarterbacks won’t likely be worth the big contract they’re going to desire. And those second three quarterbacks are probably going to ask for a contract higher than the Ravens would like to offer.
So even though the Ravens don’t have much depth at the quarterback position, they have plenty of quality.
Look at the Packers, Patriots and Broncos. Like the Ravens, none of those teams have notable backup quarterbacks, but all of those teams have Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks.
Considering the immediacy of the NFL, that’s more than what you should hope for.
