Next season's starting quarterback might have walked out the door without a new contract yesterday.
Or he might be undergoing surgery next month. Or he might be currently in another team's locker room.
In what has become an annual end-of-the-year tradition, the Ravens enter the offseason with a question mark at the game's most important position.
Jeff Blake, who went 4-6 in the final 10 games of the season, is an unrestricted free agent in March but has repeatedly said he would like to return to the Ravens.
Chris Redman, who went 3-3 in the first six games before injuring his back, is scheduled to have surgery on a herniated disc in two weeks, but said he should be fully recovered by the first minicamp in May.
The wild cards in this situation are potential free agents like the St. Louis Rams' Kurt Warner or the Pittsburgh Steelers' Kordell Stewart, both of whom could be released for salary cap reasons in March and would likely pique the Ravens' interest.
The Ravens, however, are not revealing their hand.
"There's a lot of water to go under the bridge so to speak in terms of what free agents may appear and where we want to go," said Ravens coach Brian Billick, who has made six changes at starting quarterback in four seasons.
"We have a lot of confidence in the players that we have here, and we'll address that contractually over the next couple of weeks. Chris' medical condition obviously is a factor."
That being said, the Ravens appear leaning toward re-signing Blake to an incentive-laden deal. Blake, who turned 32 earlier this month, completed 55 percent of his passes for 2,084 yards, with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
But he said he would be against an open competition with Redman.
"I'm not very fond of quarterback controversies," Blake said. "They're never good for the team. I have not yet seen one that is healthy for a team, for an offense, for a unit."
Does that mean Blake wouldn't re-sign with the Ravens as a backup again?
"I'm a free agent," Blake said. "That wouldn't make any sense. But I'm not going to close doors; I'll leave all my options open."
Redman is in favor of competing for the job.
In his first year starting in the NFL, he connected on 53.3 percent of his throws for 1,034 yards, with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. His season was cut short in late October, when a bulging disc from his college days pushed against a nerve, causing numbness and pain in his right leg.
The surgery - which removes the portion of the disc putting pressure on the nerve - generally takes six weeks of rehabilitation. Ravens trainer Bill Tessendorf indicated the procedure is "very successful" for the most part.
Redman, who has not yet spoken to Billick about his future, said he wants a chance to regain his starting job.
"That's all you can ask for in this league is to have an opportunity," said Redman, 25, a third-round draft pick by the Ravens in 2000. "Hopefully, next year, I'll be right back, feeling really good and be able to compete again."
Billick would like to avoid having his team locked in a quarterback controversy.
"Sometimes that's tough on a team, but sometimes that's what you have to do," Billick said. "I would prefer that when we open training camp that we have a clear delineation of who the starter is and who the backup is. You like to have certain things nailed down going into training camp. But that doesn't etch it in stone."
Other major issues heading into the offseason include:
Matt Cavanaugh will remain the team's offensive coordinator.
Billick announced yesterday that his entire staff will return, including Cavanaugh, who has drawn some criticism after the offense ended the season ranked 26th in the 32-team league. The Ravens, who ranked as low as 31st a month ago, averaged 289.9 yards of total offense - the lowest ever in Billick's four seasons.
"If there's something strategically that people want to point at this team, they need to point at me," Billick said. "I live and breathe this stuff in a way that few people can comprehend. I work with these men. If I thought a change needed to be made, I would do it in a proverbial New York minute.
"I am excited about this staff, I see what they do on a daily basis. I see what and how they prepare and what they have to work with. That's the pivotal thing."
Ethan Brooks could remain the starting right tackle.
In a span of two seasons, the Ravens have gone through seven right tackles (Leon Searcy, Harry Swayne, Sammy Williams, Erik Williams, Kipp Vickers, Edwin Mulitalo and now Brooks). Although Brooks has frequently jumped offside and struggled in pass protection, Billick said the team has had to give minimal extra blocking to the right side this season and would be comfortable with Brooks as his starting right tackle.
Brooks was out of football last season because of the death of his wife. Like running back Jamal Lewis, the Ravens feel Brooks will improve in his second season back.
"I like what I saw in Ethan Brooks," Billick said. "There is a huge upside to Ethan."
Adding a receiver through free agency is one of the top priorities.
Outside of Travis Taylor, no Ravens wide receiver had more than 24 catches.
Brandon Stokley, an unrestricted free agent, has yet to go a full season without an injury. Ron Johnson, a third-round pick, has been the biggest disappointment of last year's Ravens draft class with his numerous drops.
Javin Hunter, a sixth-round pick, missed the last four games because of a league suspension. And undrafted rookie Randy Hymes has shown flashes but is still considered a project.
The Ravens, who are a projected $17 million under next season's salary cap, could possibly add a high-profile receiver like Buffalo's Peerless Price, Arizona's David Boston or St. Louis' Isaac Bruce.
"By virtue of the fact that we're still so young there, it's probably a fair observation that a veteran receiver would be something that would very much interest us," Billick said.
Kicker Matt Stover and center Mike Flynn should return despite high cap numbers for their positions.
After ripping apart their team a year ago, the Ravens don't foresee any cap casualties this March. While the team still might seek to restructure some deals, the Ravens expect to have Stover ($1.25 million cap number) and Flynn ($2.7) back next season.
In his 13th season, Stover converted 21 of 25 field goals and continued a league trend of going with older - yet dependable - kickers.
Flynn completed his second season as the Ravens' starting center and could figure into the team's backup plan. If Mulitalo can't be re-signed, Flynn could shift to guard and Casey Rabach could start at center.
"I think Mike's one of the better centers in the league," Billick said.
The Ravens will start to make headway on these decisions at next week's personnel meetings.
Like last year, the Ravens have to determine their plan at quarterback. But that's the only similarity between the offseasons.
"The questions answered going into this offseason compared to last is incredible," Billick said. "I don't know if you could have a sharper contrast."
Ravens in 2003
Unrestricted free agents (12)
(Players who will no longer be under contract at season's end and can sign with any team beginning in March)
QB Jeff Blake, CB Chris McAlister, CB Robert Tate, FB Sam Gash, CB James Trapp, LB Bernardo Harris, G Edwin Mulitalo, OT Ethan Brooks, WR Jeff Ogden, LB Cornell Brown, DE Riddick Parker, WR Brandon Stokley.
Restricted free agents (8)
(Ravens can tender a qualifying offer and have first right to refusal if another team matches the tender)
QB Chris Redman, LB Shannon Taylor, DE David Nugent, TE John Jones, S Anthony Mitchell, DE Marques Douglas, DE Adalius Thomas, QB Anthony Wright.
Exclusive rights free agents (11)
(Team only has to tender contract offer to retain rights)
NT Kelly Gregg, WR Milton Wynn, CB Alvin Porter, S Ray Perryman, FB Alan Ricard, S Will Demps, OL Jason Thomas, G Bennie Anderson, OT Damion Cook, WR Randy Hymes, OT Lawrence Smith.
Under contract (27)
K Matt Stover, P Dave Zastudil, S Ed Reed, CB Gary Baxter, RB Chester Taylor, RB Jamal Lewis, RS Lamont Brightful, S Chad Williams, LB Ed Hartwell, LB Peter Boulware, LS Joe Maese, C/G Casey Rabach, WR Travis Taylor, LB Bart Scott, DT Maake Kemoeatu, OT Jonathan Ogden, TE Terry Jones, WR Ron Johnson, WR Javin Hunter, TE Todd Heap, DE Tony Weaver, LB Ray Lewis, DE Michael McCrary, C Mike Flynn, G Mike Collins, RB Dameon Hunter, CB Tom Knight.