Posts tagged ByronLeftwich at FanHouse

At least the Ravens didn't wait until the last minute. Kyle Boller's bum shoulder could put his season in jeopardy, and Troy Smith's Level 5 tummyache forced him to miss the final two preseason games. Which meant that rookie first-round pick Joe Flacco was the depth chart.

Baltimore signed backup Casey Bramlet long enough to cut him, but they're still in the market for a longer-term solution behind whoever ends up winning the starting job.

Ideally, Smith would be ready to go this week and Flacco would get comfortable holding a clipboard for the '08 season as the No. 3 option. One problem: with Boller's future in doubt, the team doesn't have a veteran backup. Luckily, plenty of semi-qualified names hit the open market yesterday, which is potentially good news for the Ravens.

Charlie Batch's season is officially over, as reported by Gerry Dulac at the Post-Gazette. The Steelers today made the much anticipated move of placing the veteran on Injured Reserve, and making Byron Leftwich the No. 2 quarterback behind Ben Roethlisberger. This could very well be the end of Batch's career in Pittsburgh.

Batch broke his collarbone in the teams first preseason game while attempting to salvage a busted play in the backfield.

Also, from the same Post-Gazette article, the Steelers will be releasing former third-round pick Willie Reid, as well as veteran return-man Eddie Drummond. Both players were competing for return duties on this years squad.

Reid, the teams second third-round pick during the 2006 draft, never panned out after having his rookie year completely wiped out by injuries.

Pro Football Talk may not know it yet, but there's almost no chance that Charlie Batch will be a Steeler at the end of this weekend.

PFT is reporting that the Steelers could consider keeping four quarterbacks, since Batch should be healthy by week four or five. Because they need an experienced backup for early in the season, they'd keep Byron Leftwich. Because he wouldn't miss much time, they'd keep long-time backup Batch and Dennis Dixon would make the team as the developmental quarterback.

That sounds plausible, but it's not going to happen. With Leftwitch looking good in his preseason stints, there's no compelling reason to keep Batch on the active roster. As Ed Bouchette pointed out, the Steelers could waive him with an injury settlement and run the risk that he'll still be available if Roethlisberger or Leftwich was injured later. While you may think that someone would quickly sign Batch, do remember that the Steelers actually waived him before the first game of the 2005 season, then re-signed him before week two (and released Nate Washington to sign Batch), so it is something Pittsburgh has done before.

Former Marshall quarterback, Byron Leftwich, is known for his strong arm and reverse-fast-pitch windup. Another alum, Chad Pennington, drafted three years before Leftwich, is also known for a certain passing-related peculiarity. Namely: his deadly accurate popcorn arm.

Yep, Pennington can knock a bottle off a fence post, just so long as it's no more than 10 yards away. Actually, it's hardly news that the Dolphins' newest quarterback has a weak(er than NFL average) noodle; that scouting report has been following him around for as long as he's played football. But now, entering his ninth NFL season, Pennington has a request: please shut up about it.

''The perception is that way because I never defended myself -- I just let people talk,'' he said in a private moment last week. ''But it's perception -- it's not reality. You get tired of hearing about it.''

But the story has taken on a life of its own. Legend has it that Pennington needs a cut-off man on nine routes, but that's a slight exaggeration.

Pro Football Talk had it half right. The Steelers did sign Byron Leftwich on Sunday, but they left Daunte Culpepper sitting out on the free agent market.

The two veterans had a throw-off to compete for the spot, with the Steelers coaching staff choosing the younger Leftwich over Culpepper.

It wasn't that long ago that Leftwich was giving Pittsburgh all kinds of problems. Talent-wise, he could end up being an upgrade over Charlie Batch (who should be back after six to eight weeks), but Batch is credited for being a player who serves a coaching role as well. And while Batch is injured now, Leftwich also has some injury issues--he's never been healthy for a full season.

But he is one of the better backup quarterbacks you could ever find during the preseason. Normally teams are left trolling for the Vinny Testaverde's and Kelly Holcomb's of the world. In Leftwich, Pittsburgh has a quarterback that you could believe in if Roethlisberger suffered a long-term injury (so is Batch for that matter).

The Steelers also reinstated Casey Hampton from the physically unable to perform list, having decided that the mammoth nose tackle has lost enough weight to put on pads.

If Pro Football Talk's report is accurate, the Steelers couldn't decide between Byron Leftwitch and Daunte Culpepper, so they signed them both. (Update: The PFT story now says that a league source says they will add, but the Sporting News story based on PFT's report--Mike Florio works for both sites--still says that they have signed both).

Talk about your baffling decisions, especially for the two veteran quarterbacks. Both of them entered the offseason hoping to land a starting job. Now they'll be facing off for one spot as a backup. What it means is that one of them will be released when the preseason ends, which is not a great endorsement when they're trying to find that next job. And while no terms are mentioned, neither of them could have gotten much money, since the Steelers don't have a whole lot of cap room.

But it does seem to signify that the Steelers are more concerned about Charlie Batch's injury that it would have appeared at first report on Friday night. If Batch is back in four-to-six weeks as Mike Tomlin said, the Steelers just spent a decent amount of money for a veteran backup for just a couple of games.

CBS Sportsline's Pete Prisco says that less than a day after Charlie Batch broke his collarbone, the Steelers are entertaining the idea of signing Daunte Culpepper or Byron Leftwich, the two most prominent quarterbacks who are out looking for jobs.

Prisco doesn't cite any source with the Steelers, but he says that the Steelers would consider adding one of the two veterans, even though Charlie Batch would likely return to being the primary backup when he recovers from his collarbone injury. At one point, Leftwich and Culpepper were more likely to hold out for a chance to compete for a starting job, but at this point, it's pretty clear that they are looking at a backup job now, or sitting out until injuries force a team to sign a stop-gap during the season.

Former Jaguars and Falcons quarterback Byron Leftwich has undergone a physical and is working out with the Tennessee Titans.

Just like the Miami Dolphins are doing with Quincy Carter, the Titans are interested in putting Leftwich on their "ready to play" list ... meaning he's near the Bat-phone in case of emergencies.

They also have already used Leftwich in a helpful way for the team:

Coach Jeff Fisher said the Titans have a number of receivers they are working out Thursday, and he's not going to ask quarterbacks Vince Young, Kerry Collins or Ingle Martin to throw to them.

That is part of the reason for bringing in Leftwich for a physical and a little work on the field.

"He's played in the league. He's been a starter in the league. He's won a lot of games. We're bringing him in just to work him out and see where he's at and even give him a physical and have him throw to some receivers that we're also trying to determine whether we put on our ready list or not," Fisher said.

Bring him in to add for emergency situations, give him a gig trying out new receivers and ... anything else?

To me, it would seem advantageous to the Titans to have a former Jaguars quarterback on their team. After all, AFC South rival Indianapolis brought in Quinn Gray ... another former Jags QB. Maybe ... I'm just sayin' ... the Titans will ask a few questions about the ins and outs of the Jacksonville offense.

They can grill him on the "hand off to the running back" play ... or the "throw an incomplete pass to a guy who is paid to be a receiver" play ... or the "tuck it and run" play.

Commence corpulence humor: the Giants have released heavy-set quarterback Jared Lorenzen. This comes as shocking news, not so much because Lorenzen was ever considered anything more than a Eli Manning's backup during his three-year career, but because New York's front office thought him to be less effective at his job than David Carr. Which is another way of a saying Lorenzen now replaces Jesse Palmer as the worst quarterback on the planet. Sad times, indeed.

The Giants still have four quarterbacks heading into training camp -- Manning, Carr, Anthony Wright and rookie Andre Woodson -- and there's a chance the team goes into the season with just two on the active roster. Wright has been a competent backup for most of his career, but I wouldn't be surprised if David Carr gets the nod because, well, I have no idea (because his nickname is mittens, maybe?).

Woodson could end up on the practice squad if he's slow to pick up the offense, and that's not necessarily a bad thing (Ryan Grant got his start there). Or, maybe the coaches will come to their senses, send Carr packing, and go into the season with Wright and Woodson behind Manning.

As for Lorenzen's future, I'd have to say it looks grim. Daunte Culpepper and Byron Leftwich are still looking for work, and I can't imagine any team would prefer the Hefty Lefty to two former first-round picks. That said, I don't think Lorenzen will be demanding a shot at a starting job, so who knows.