Baltimore Ravens backup quarterback Troy Smith has requested a trade, according to his agent.
The former Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State plays sparingly behind franchise quarterback Joe Flacco, and he would like a change of scenery, per his agent, Ralph Cindrich.
Cindrich wrote the following message today on his Twitter account: "Ravens QB Troy Smith, Ohio State alum, native + Heisman winner wants playing time. Ravens notified. Will seek trade after play offs, SB run."
The timing of Smith's announcement is interesting to say the least with the Ravens on the verge of making the playoffs with a win next week over the Oakland Raiders.
It's no secret around the team that Smith believes he should be a starter in the NFL and was extremely disappointed to lose his chance to start last year when a tonsil infection sidelined him during the preseason.
Since that illness, Flacco has started every game and emerged as one of the better young quarterbacks in the NFL.
Elaborating on Smith's outlook, Cindrich wrote: "semantics. U start in 09 in NFL ur starting quality. Troy wins job, gets sick, backup kills it, becomes starter. Old as NFL. .. no team is permitted to discuss other players and none has been contacted.Still, coaches and GM's are having discussions. .. if he is better than a few starters, that's starter quality. How else does he or anyone know? .. there are teams that could use a QB who can dance and duck. .. There are a lot of openings and how else do you find out? I have had and seen a number of QB's where it took opportunities."
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To be fair, Troy Smith has never really gotten a chance. If I remember correctly, the Ravens were high on him until the illness. The agent's account of events matches my own recollection almost exactly. Whether Smith could be an effective NFL QB is a fair question, but I don't think anybody can answer that.
I am a Ravens fan as well as an OSU fan. When I first heard the announcement I was slightly disappointed, but understood. Troy Smith is a good QB with allot of untapped potential. I have followed his career since he left high school. Troy Smith is an undiscovered jewel as a QB. Not only does he pass accurately, has a strong arm (threw 75 yards taking one step in QB challenge on ESPN), mobile when he needs to be -- he is a leader. Leadership is one of the greatest intangibles that a QB needs. If you look at his career so far, even back to his OSU career, he didn't go to OSU as a starting QB. In fact, he was listed as a running back -- worked hard and earned his way into the QB position. Tressel and crew found out that he was the best QB they had. Troy ended up being the best QB OSU ever had. He received the last scholarship to play for OSU his freshman year, starting out on special teams and ends up being a Heisman trophy winner. Wow! Whenever someone has come from insurmountable odds like that, the strength gained most often than not is more than enough to carry him over to where it is they are trying to reach. I think he will do well as an NFL QB. As far as the people who think that he shouldn’t have done it or wanted to be traded, I have a question for you. What head coach in his right mind would want a QB that is satisfied being the backup? That will only carry over onto the field when and if they get to play.
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Dec 28, 2009
06:04 PM
Keep dreaming, Troy. The only reason you were the starter was because the other choice at that moment was a Div I-AA rookie. You'll go from being a backup on a good team to a backup on a bad team. Enjoy!