Steve McNair?s mind could take it, but his body could not.
Coming to grips with that realization, the Ravens? quarterback announced his retirement Thursday, ending a 13-year injury-filled career, which included the last two seasons in Baltimore.
And suddenly, the Ravens? eighth pick overall in the NFL Draft on April 26 takes on added importance. Still, General Manager Ozzie Newsome said McNair?s retirement will not change how the Ravens approach the draft and that the team won?t look into any other veteran quarterbacks until after the draft.
The Ravens have two quarterbacks under contract ? former first-round pick Kyle Boller and 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, a fifth-round pick last year.
“[McNair?s retirement] does not change our plans at all,” Newsome said. “What it does do, it allows Kyle and Troy to become as good as they can be. But this will not impact our decision in the draft, not one iota. I spoke to my staff, and they felt the same way.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh also remained noncommittal regarding McNair?s successor.
“We lost our incumbent, and now it?s wide open,” the first-year head coach said.
As for McNair, the four-time Pro Bowler retires with 31,304 passing yards, 174 TD passes and 3,590 rushing yards. He spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, leading the franchise to the Super Bowl in 2000, where they lost to the St. Louis Rams. But, after playing in all 16 games with the Ravens in 2006, he managed to play in just six games last season, having surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder in December.
“It was a very difficult decision,” McNair said. “In your mind, you think you can play. But when you?re fighting that battle between mind and body, and they?re not on the same accord, it?s not going to work in the National Football League.”
Ravens teammates at Owings Mills gave McNair a standing ovation when he told them of his decision.
“It hurts, because Steve was like a mentor to me,” said cornerback Samari Rolle, who played with McNair for the Titans. “Everybody looked up to him in Tennessee. Even when he came here, everyone was worried about the offense and how we?re going to do this, how we?re going to do that. He comes in, and we go 13-3, and everything was great. The most proud thing is, he?s retiring on his own terms.”
