medium_troy-smith-ravens

It seems like a simple request to a player.

Players want to play. If I can’t play where I am then trade me so I can get an opportunity elsewhere. But at times the business end of sports makes things harder to accomplish than they seem.

Just ask Troy Smith. He’d even crawl to Cleveland to get his chance.

Troy Smith, the former Heisman trophy winner from Ohio State was drafted in the 5th round in the 2007 Draft by Baltimore. At the time, he was drafted as a number three quarterback as both Steve McNair and Kyle Boller stood in front of him. But things can change quickly in one season and by the end of 2007 fans were calling for Smith’s audition as it was becoming clear that injuries had taken their toll on McNair’s performance and with the Ravens out of the playoff hunt it was a good time to showcase his skills. With his opportunity Smith was able to show that he could make plays with his legs and more importantly lead his teammates. He became a fan favorite in just a few games as the Baltimore faithful were still looking for a leader for the long term.

But as I said, things can change in a season. Brian Billick was fired and the franchise looked once again to the draft to find a quarterback of the future.

So at the start of 2008, you had Smith, Kyle Boller and rookie Joe Flacco competiting for the job. It looked like a two horse race between Boller and Smith as the Ravens did not want to make the same mistakes they made with the former first rounder Boller and throw him into the rigors of the NFL too quickly.

What happened next is well documented. Boller was injured for the rest of the season and Smith came down with an unusual viral infection that sapped his strength and in essence robbed him of his chance to earn the job. Flacco started by default and he cemented himself as the quarterback for years to come. I often wonder how the 2008 season and beyond would have been different if Smith would have been healthy.

When he regained his health he was inserted in some “Wildcat” packages and was used sparingly in 2008 and last season he was used even less as Flacco continued his development.

Troy Smith just wants to lead his team and you can hardly blame any player for wanting to do what he is paid to do. He’s hardly been a malcontent. He’s allowed his agent to be his advocate while publicly he says all the right things.

Smith has a strong connection to Ohio and it would only make sense that he would wish to return home and play for the Browns. It also could make sense since their quarterback situation is still unsettled, although some steps have been taken in the past few days to fix that as they just signed Seneca Wallace on Monday and released Derek Anderson. So it would appear that Smith was not in their plans.

So what’s next? What other teams are in need of a quarterback? Buffalo could be an option but they have Brian Brohm waiting in the wings with a large contract. Carolina could be an option since they just parted with Jake Delhomme. But that’s it.

I think the most likely scenario is that Smith is back in Baltimore as the number two and will stay in that capacity until Flacco is hurt or if he is traded.

I really don’t think there is anywhere left to crawl to besides home.