Ravens reportedly close to singing Harrington

The Ravens are close to singing QB Joey Harrington to become the #2 or #3 back-up QB depending on the health to both Troy Smith and Kyle Boller over the course of the season.

Boller looks to be finished for the season and the Ravens are said to be making a decision about his future this week. Smith on the other hand is still trying to come back from a nasty tonsillitis virus that left him 20 pounds lighter. It could be weeks before he gets back to his previous strength.

Meanhile, the Ravens have already tapped rookie Joe Flacco to be the week 1 starter versus the Bengals because there is no other choice on the roster. It's likely that Flacco will start 1 or 2 games until either Smith gets healthy or Harrington becomes familiar enough with Cam Cameron's offense.

Harrington's reputation around the NFL is that he is a huge bust, after being taken with the 3rd overall pick by the Detroit Lions in 2002. Harrington failed to live up to the hype, tossing 60 TD's and 62 INT's during 4 years in the Motor City before being released.

In 2006 he signed with Miami and threw 12 TD versus 15 INT's and last year with the Falcons he chucked 7 TD against 8 INT.

There's no denying that Harrington is a bust, but it may not be entirely his fault. Detroit wasn't exactly a place to thrive, as Matt Millen made a living out of making bad moves and the head coach position had less stability than a revolving door. In Miami and Atlanta, Harrington was looked at as nothing other than a quick fix, and when he didn't perform above expectations, he was tossed aside.

In Baltimore, Harrington is yet again a quick fix, and the state of the OL and the WR corps don't point to any Jeff Garcia-like resurrections. Harrington is likely to be here a year, and then continue on down the short road to early retirement.

On message boards, I hear Ravens fans complaining about the potential Harrington signing, but there weren't any other options. The Ravens brought in Chris Simms over the weekend, but his weak arm and injury history left the Ravens worrying if they could potentially lose yet another QB at some point during the season. At least Harrington has a decent history of staying healthy.

The bottom line is that the Ravens needed somebody, anybody. And while Harrington may not be Mr. Right, he'll do right now.

At least he's an upgrade over Casey Bramlet.