A $3.8 Million Mistake

Justin Silberman is the newest member of the EbonyBird.com writing staff, and he will be contributing op-ed pieces for the blog. This is his first post:

At one point in his career Marc Bulger, now 33 years old, was once considered an elite quarterback in the National Football League, but that time has passed. The Baltimore Ravens, who agreed to terms with Marc Bulger 2 weeks ago, will pay him $3.8 million dollars for one season of wearing the purple and black. The Ravens, who have lacked a bonafide back up quarterback in the Joe Flacco era finally got their man, but at what cost?

Click “Continue Reading” to see Justin’s full argument against the signing of Marc Bulger.

Bulger, a time 2 time Pro Bowl quarterback (2003,2006), has not since regained that form, missing 12 games over the past three seasons while racking up 27 touchdown passes over that time compared to 34 interceptions. Is this the guy to sign to be mentoring a maturing and growing leader in Joe Flacco? My answer: absolutely not. Coming off an impressive season  in 2006 which saw Bulger set career highs in yards (4,301), and touchdown passes (24), the St. Louis Rams awarded Bulger a 6 year $62.5 million dollar extension to keep the Bulger in St. Louis through 2012, but after being underwhelming in the ’07, ’08 and ’09 seasons, he was cut, and being available this late into the summer makes him the “leftovers” of NFL free agency.

With all this being said, not to mention the playoff woes of Marc Bulger, it is clear to me he is not the man to mentor Joe Flacco. The Ravens find themselves in a very interesting situation with this signing. Bulger, who is set to make $3.8 million dollars in 2010 with 2 million more in incentives could earn up to more that $3 million dollars than Flacco, who is set to receive $2.66 million dollars in 2010. If I’m Joe Flacco am I really going to take the advice of a guy who has not proved he can win in the playoffs, come through in the big moment, or stay healthy to play an entire season?

The Ravens, a team on the cusp of Super Bowl glory, have brought in the pieces both offensively and defensively for Joe Flacco to succeed. The keys to being an elite team now are in Joe Flacco’s hands, and I honestly cannot see Marc Bulger doing a good job of mentoring Flacco to greatness. Look at the greats who have won Super Bowls; Steve Young had Joe Montana in his corner and Tom Brady had Drew Bledsoe. I just don’t see Marc Bulger in the class of these greats.

-Justin Silberman