General manager Ozzie Newsome disputed an ESPN report that the Ravens are pondering making a substantial offer for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
"We have not had one meeting to discuss any personnel on our team or anyone else's team," Newsome said yesterday. "We've been very busy hiring assistant coaches."
There has been speculation linking the Ravens to McNabb since the team hired longtime Eagles assistant John Harbaugh to replace head coach Brian Billick.
If the Ravens decide they are interested in trading for McNabb, it likely would take at least a first-round pick, a move that doesn't fit the team's track record. The Ravens, who have the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft, have never traded a pick higher than the third round for a player.
When rumors surfaced late last season that the Eagles would be willing to part ways with McNabb, team president Joe Banner said McNabb would return next season as their starting quarterback.
"I can't envision a situation in which [McNabb] is not our quarterback next year," Banner said.
Trading for McNabb would be a gamble.
McNabb, 31, hasn't finished two of the past three seasons because of injuries, missing 15 games since 2005. Over that three-season span, he has thrown 53 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions.
The Ravens have opened themselves up to speculation because they have not publicly committed to Steve McNair as their starter for next season. Newsome has previously said the coach and his staff would have input into the makeup of the team, especially the quarterback position.
McNair, 34, was 2-4 as a starter this season, completing 133 of 205 passes for 1,113 yards and committing 11 turnovers (four interceptions and seven lost fumbles). He had a 73.9 quarterback rating, which was his second lowest since 1998.
He missed the final seven games because of an injury to his nonthrowing shoulder and had surgery to repair his rotator cuff.
McNair has been rehabilitating his shoulder two to three days a week at team headquarters.
"He's progressing very well," said Newsome, who traded a fourth-round pick for McNair in June 2006.
The Ravens have three quarterbacks on their roster: McNair, Kyle Boller and Troy Smith. It would seem unlikely that McNair would return if the Ravens committed to McNabb.
When asked whether McNair could come back and be the starting quarterback, Newsome said: "We have not had any dialogue about our personnel. We don't have a quarterback coach yet."
jamison.hensley@baltsun.com