Former NFL MVP Steve McNair passed his physical on Thursday and is the new starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens.
The Tennessee Titans swapped the longtime face of their franchise and a fan favorite for what is believed to be a fourth-round pick in next spring's draft.
A strained right pectoral kept McNair out of Tennessee's regular-season finale, and the Titans wanted the three-time Pro Bowl player to take a new physical before working out with them again. But Baltimore coach Brian Billick, knowing McNair needed to pass the physical to complete the trade, had no such worries.
"As I understand it, he was cleared to play in the Pro Bowl," Billick said. "That one, I'll leave it to a higher pay grade than me to figure out how someone can fail an exit physical but be cleared to play in the Pro Bowl. I'm a little confused about that myself."
Ravens receiver Derrick Mason, cut by Tennessee in a salary cap-move in February 2005, believes his friend has plenty left after watching McNair a couple of times last season. McNair threw for 3,161 yards and 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions.
"I figure he's still got two, three, four years left in him if he doesn't take the shots that he did in previous years," Mason said.
McNair, who turned 33 in February, was Tennessee's winningest quarterback in franchise history. In 11 seasons, he went 81-59 and shared the MVP award with Peyton Manning three years ago.
He's one of only four players in NFL history with 150 touchdowns passing and 35 rushing, trailing only Steve Young, Randall Cunningham and Steve Grogan. He's one of five with 25,000 yards passing and 3,000 yards rushing, a group that includes John Elway, Fran Tarkenton, Young and Randall Cunningham.
The trade resulted from the Titans' inability to reduce McNair's US$9 million salary for 2006 and his US$23.46 million salary cap hit resulting from reworking his contract repeatedly in recent years.
The quarterback won a grievance last week which allowed him to return to the team's headquarters and work out after being told he couldn't on April 3.
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