Bears General Manager Phil Emery isn’t a believer in drafting late-round quarterbacks to develop.
But the economic realities of having a $100 million quarterback are forcing the Ravens into planning on one for themselves.
With Joe Flacco established and backup Tyrod Taylor entering the final year of his rookie contract, the Ravens are looking for a passer at some stage in the NFL Draft.
“If the opportunity presents itself that Tyrod gets a chance to play because of an injury, then it would behard to retain him because this is a quarterback-driven league and other teams would be attracted to him,” Ravens G.M. Ozzie Newsome said, via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “For those reasons, we also need to be looking at bringing in another quarterback so we can have someone that is capable of going into the game as we move forward in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, in case we can’t keep Tyrod, that we have someone who can go and win games for us if Joe gets hurt.”
The Ravens have brought in a number of quarterbacks for visits, including Eastern Illinois’ Jimmy Garoppolo, Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas, Alabama’s A.J. McCarron and Ball State’s Keith Wenning. Those four represent a wide range of draft status, but suffice it to say the Ravens have enough needs they can’t burn a first- or second-rounder on a backup.
Given that, they’ll be looking for someone with a specific set of qualities, which includes a willingness to hold a clipboard for the foreseeable future.