Baltimore Ravens announce the signing of quarterback David Olson
By Joe Schiller
The Baltimore Ravens have added another arm to training camp. According to an official team statement, they have signed quarterback David Olson.
While Joe Flacco is expected to be out at least a week with a back injury, the Baltimore Ravens want to add another training camp arm.
Even with the team being interested in Colin Kaepernick, the Ravens chose to go a different direction. Reports surfaced last night that they had signed quarterback David Olson.
The Ravens made the signing official today.
We have signed former Clemson QB David Olson.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 28, 2017
Most people won’t know who the heck David Olson is, and for good reason. He actually has a pretty cool story.
Olson played his college football at Standford under John Harbaugh’s brother Jim. After little to no game time he transferred to Clemson his senior season, but only appeared in two games.
Since then Olson has spent time working jobs and playing in the Champions Indoor Football League. He most recently played with the Kansas City Phantoms last season.
Now 25, Olson gets his first crack in the NFL and joins the Ravens roster.
Before everyone gets up in arms about this signing, it’s clear the Ravens know what they are doing. They’ve signed Olson with the clear intention of having him be a training camp arm. Because of Flacco’s injury, Ryan Mallett and Dustin Vaugh are the only two quarterbacks left on the 90-man roster.
The shortage of arm talent was clear yesterday. Ravens assistant coach Matt Weiss had to throw to receivers yesterday. Olson now takes the void off of him.
Weiss had to take snaps for some drills yesterday with the #Ravens having just two healthy quarterbacks on the field.
— Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) July 28, 2017
The bottom line
Signing Olson should be good news for fans. This means that Joe Flacco is better off than most expected. If the back injury was a major concern, the Ravens would be out signing a more experienced quarterback.
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This isn’t saying that the Ravens still won’t go after Colin Kaepernick, but the chances look slim for the time being. With the little cap space the Ravens have right now, the priority is in different areas.