Backup Quarterback

In a move that is expected to take the Ravens out of the Byron Leftwich hunt, backup quarterback Kyle Boller agreed to a one-year contract extension yesterday, which will keep him with the team through next season. A first-round pick by the Ravens in 2003, Boller would have been an unrestricted free agent in March. Although financial terms were not immediately available, it is believed Boller could earn more than $3 million next season, which would nearly double his salary this year ($1.79 million)

The Ravens had planned to address at least one of their various offensive needs during the opening day of the NFL draft, but several hours after strengthening their defense by selecting prized cornerback Chris McAlister, the war room at the team's Owings Mills facility fell silent.Instead of trading down in the second round and possibly adding a third-round pick -- and thus filling two holes on an offense that ranked 26th in the NFL last year -- the Ravens decided to look one more year down the road.

The Ravens and New England Patriots agreed to a deal yesterday that would send tight end Lovett Purnell to Baltimore in exchange for the Ravens' sixth-round pick in the 1999 draft, the 180th choice overall.Ravens vice president of player personnel Ozzie Newsome and coach Brian Billick confirmed that the deal was close to being completed, with both teams basically waiting for the league to give final approval. Purnell, 26, has agreed to a one-year offer from the Ravens worth about $500,000.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- At the time, it made little sense: Why would the Ravens trade for Jim Harbaugh, relegating Eric Zeier to the bench, and then sign Zeier to a two-year contract worth $2.6 million?Why would they spend precious salary cap money on a guy they had just layered over?Well, now we know why. Zeier played in the Ravens' season opener against the Steelers last week, and he might play again today against the Jets at the Meadowlands, depending on Harbaugh's sore elbow and injured finger.

It has become a knee jerk reflex with Eric Zeier. Ask the Ravens' veteran backup quarterback to talk about himself, and he winces.Ask him to reflect on that exhilarating December last season, when Zeier proved to himself, the Ravens and the rest of the NFL that, yes, he could play in this league. Zeier smiles with self-deprecation, then showers his coaches, linemen, running backs and receivers with compliments.Ask him what it's like to go from an unknown commodity to a sought-after free agent -- a process that transformed Zeier from a low-paid passer into an instant millionaire.

SAN DIEGO -- With all the hype and hoopla, it goes without saying that the Super Bowl is not a normal football game.There are the two-week delay, the neutral site and teams practicing for a week away from their normal training facilities.The biggest difference, though, is that injuries are usually no factor.This is the 32nd Super Bowl, which is two weeks worth of regular-season action in the NFL.In any normal two-week span, teams cope with a lot of injuries, especially at the vulnerable quarterback position.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- How often have the San Francisco 49ers, the five-time Super Bowl-champion 49ers, torched teams by scores of 44 to something?"We got a taste of our own medicine here today," 49ers cornerback Marquez Pope said."

Mistakes hurt Morgan State yesterday. But the overtime play selection may have ruined it.After roaring back from a 17-point deficit late in the third quarter -- to force overtime, the Bears switched from short passes and off-tackle runs to back-to-back halfback options in the extra period, which led to a 34-27 defeat to South Carolina State before 3,750 at Hughes Stadium.Morgan State (2-3) lost its 16th consecutive game to the Bulldogs. The Bears last won in the series in 1979. S.C. State (4-0)

Cigars are usually handed out in celebration. New babies, a promotion. When Sonny Jurgensen went searching for Jeff Hostetler at Redskin Park on Monday, he didn't know the handful of cigars he was delivering to the backup quarterback would be viewed a few hours later as a celebratory gesture.But once Jurgensen found out that Hostetler would be finishing the season as Washington's starter in place of Gus Frerotte, who fractured his hip against the St. Louis Rams last week, the old quarterback grinned as if something good might be about to happen.

The first time Dan Marino passed this way, he was a mere rookie quarterback with the Miami Dolphins. Almost exactly 14 years ago -- on Oct. 23, 1983 -- he led the Dolphins to a 21-7 victory over the Baltimore Colts at Memorial Stadium. Threw for two touchdowns and 157 yards in a driving rainstorm.That was before he amassed any of his 23 NFL records, before his nine Pro Bowl selections, before his nine pro surgeries, before anyone knew how truly great a quarterback he was.Back then, he was a first-round draft choice and a curiosity -- as in how he fell to the 27th pick overall after five other quarterbacks, not all of them named John Elway or Jim Kelly, were selected.

The Ravens have the No. 26 pick in the NFL draft April 25, which isn't enviable, but Eric DeCosta, the team's director of player personnel, wouldn't mind being in that spot every year. A low position in the first round is an indication of success the previous season. The Ravens also like to point out that the last time they were in this position, they selected a middle linebacker out of the University of Miami named Ray Lewis in 1996. The rest is Hall of Fame history. "I don't know if there has ever been a No. 26 pick in the history of the league as good as Ray Lewis," DeCosta said Wednesday.

In a move that is expected to take the Ravens out of the Byron Leftwich hunt, backup quarterback Kyle Boller agreed to a one-year contract extension yesterday, which will keep him with the team through next season. A first-round pick by the Ravens in 2003, Boller would have been an unrestricted free agent in March. Although financial terms were not immediately available, it is believed Boller could earn more than $3 million next season, which would nearly double his salary this year ($1.79 million)

ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES Cornerback Samari Rolle, the only player standing between running back Mike Anderson and the goal line, got plowed over, something that didn't go unnoticed by his teammates. "Do you need some help out there?" receiver Derrick Mason yelled to Rolle. ROLE REVERSAL Earlier in practice, Rolle read an out route correctly and was in perfect position to intercept quarterback Steve McNair's pass. But receiver Mark Clayton showed he could be an emergency defensive back when he raced to the sideline to break up the interception.

It's hardly a mass exodus, but Maryland's defensive coordinator might not be the only one leaving the football program. Two days after defensive coordinator Gary Blackney quietly retired, coach Ralph Friedgen met with three players who are thinking about leaving the program, including his top receiver and backup quarterback. Junior tight end Vernon Davis filed paperwork yesterday with the NFL Players Association to get a better idea of where he would be selected in the NFL draft. Davis led the Terps with 871 yards and six touchdowns on 51 catches.

COLLEGE PARK - A day after missing two practices and contemplating quitting the University of Maryland football team, second-year freshman quarterback Ryan Mitch rejoined his teammates at yesterday's practice, saying he had one of those "boiling point days" and he didn't handle it the right way. "Me and my parents and coach had to take care of a personal problem, and I am just real happy to be back," said Mitch, who is in contention with two others for...

If the Ravens want Terrell Owens, they likely will have to take a faster-than-expected route to grab the four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver. The San Francisco 49ers granted Owens permission yesterday to pursue a trade in "the next 72 hours." The Ravens, meanwhile, stressed the importance of patience in free agency, which kicks off today. "Am I in a rush to get a receiver just so I can have good headlines in the paper and make the 6 o'clock news? No," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Heading into yesterday's Patriot League game, Towson University knew that Bucknell had a dangerous weapon at quarterback. However, the Tigers were preparing for the wrong guy. After starting quarterback Daris Wilson was injured midway through the opening quarter, backup John Henry Jackson came in and rallied the Bison to a 14-10 win before a homecoming crowd of 6,212 at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium. "We thought that when Daris Wilson was hurt that we had a chance," Towson coach Gordy Combs said.

The Ravens' road back to respectability is lined with psychological potholes. Looking to end a two-game skid, the Ravens (3-5) head into today's game against the Cincinnati Bengals (1-7) with extreme caution, knowing how this AFC North run-in will test the emotions of their quarterback, the discipline of their veterans and the focus of every Raven. A rare favorite, the Ravens have every reason to overlook underachieving Cincinnati. The Bengals have the league's worst record and have become the symbol for dysfunctional NFL franchises.

This is where Randall Cunningham's experience comes in. And it has nothing to do with his ability on the field, where Cunningham has played in 159 games in his 16-year career. It is about Cunningham using the professionalism drawn from such a long haul to help defuse a potentially nasty situation off the field. Cunningham is entangled in the most hotly debated topic surrounding the Ravens: whether he should start Sunday's game at Jacksonville instead of struggling quarterback Elvis Grbac.

CARLISLE, Pa. - With the incumbent starter nursing an ailing shoulder and the inexperienced backup nicked and ineffective, the Washington Redskins seem to be awfully calm about their quarterback situation, just three days before their second exhibition. That doesn't mean that coach Marty Schottenheimer isn't doing something about the matter. In fact, he brought in Danny Kanell (formerly a quarterback for the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons) for a morning workout yesterday to see what he can offer the Redskins, what with Jeff George on the shelf with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder and Todd Husak nursing a strained oblique muscle near his left rib cage.