April 18, 2008

In February, general manager Ozzie Newsome said Steve McNair would be the starting quarterback. “We have no one else,” Newsome said, pointedly. Now, a little more than a week before the draft, McNair has elected to retire, leaving backups Kyle Boller and Troy Smith to compete for the job. On the surface, Boller would appear to have the edge on winning the job; he has 42 career starts compared to Smith’s two. However, head coach John Harbaugh said Thursday that the plans for the position have yet to be finalized. “We’ve talked about that many times — it’s competitive,” Harbaugh said Thursday. “We lost our incumbent, and now it’s wide open.” Newsome indicated McNair’s retirement would not alter the team’s draft plans. The Ravens select eighth overall and have nine draft picks. However, only five of those picks — Nos. 8, 38, 106, 173 and 215 — are tradable; the others are compensatory selections. That is worth noting as speculation about the Ravens’ interest in Boston College QB Matt Ryan grows. Ryan is expected to be selected before the Ravens are on the clock at No. 8. Newsome also hinted that the Ravens might not direct their attention to adding a veteran quarterback until after the draft. That said, the Ravens have pulled off a Draft Day trade for a passer before, trading two second-day picks for the Rams’ Tony Banks in 1999. Newsome was then the Ravens’ director of player personnel.