The Flip Medley

I don’t know if all of you remember how Steve McNair wound up with the Baltimore Ravens towards the end of his career, but let’s rewind to 2006…

From ESPN.com:

By Chris Mortensen
ESPN.com
Archive

Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was asked to leave the team’s training facility when he reported Monday for offseason workouts, his agent and team sources confirmed.
McNair was told by a team trainer that he would not be allowed to work out until his contract situation is resolved, according to James “Bus” Cook, who represents McNair.

“Steve was told that until he got his contract straightened out, he wasn’t welcome at the facility,” said Cook. “Heck, he’s got his contract already straightened out and now he’s trying to fulfill it by reporting for the offseason.”

Cook said there had been no warning of the team’s position. Titans sources said it was a decision was made by owner Bud Adams, who apparently fears that an offseason injury would make him liable for McNair’s current contract.

“We have no choice but to protect the club and its future from the possibility of having a significant amount of our salary cap at risk in a single player should he sustain a major injury,” the team said in a statement Tuesday. “This is entirely a risk management problem.”

Titans coach Jeff Fisher, who was in Los Angeles observing USC quarterback Matt Leinart in a private workout Monday, declined to elaborate but said, “Things got blown out of proportion. … We’ll get it straightened out.”

McNair is scheduled to make $10 million in 2006, including a $1 million team penalty because the Titans declined to exercise a three-year option. His salary cap charge is almost $24 million, and the team is trying to get McNair to restructure his deal. It has been speculated that the team could release the quarterback if there is not a new contract in place in the near future.

“The reason his cap number is $24 million is because they kept asking him to restructure every year to create space,” Cook said. “This guy has done everything for the team, and he has two or three really good years left. Now, they treat him like this.”

Today, Steve McNair was found dead in Nashville, TN from gunshot wounds. Here’s the statement made by Bud Adams (the NFL owner who locked out Steve from the Titans facilities in the article above) about how wonderful Steve was:

From ESPN.com (again):

“We are saddened and shocked to hear the news of Steve McNair’s passing today,” Titans owner Bud Adams said in a statement. “He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl.”

The NFL is just a business but let’s not let press releases gloss over how, as much as he admired his player, Adams threw him under the bus when it was time to make the deal. And that’s why the Ravens wound up with an All-Pro QB before the Flacco era began, and why McNair retired a Raven and not a Titan.