The Ravens made another change at quarterback Monday, though not the one coaches, team officials and ownership discussed heavily over the past few weeks.
Baltimore is swapping West Texas A&M product Dustin Vaughan with journeyman Thad Lewis. Lewis, an undrafted free agent out of Duke in 2010, last played with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. Lewis last appeared in an NFL game back in 2013 with the Buffalo Bills.
One of the reasons Baltimore opted not to sign free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick earlier this offseason was because the Ravens did not have a need for anything more than a camp arm. Despite the fact that Kaepernick, according to someone close to him, would have been interested in that opportunity, the Ravens cycled through a group of third and fourth stringers over the last two weeks in Vaughan and David Olson. Now, Lewis joins a group that includes backup Ryan Mallett, Liberty product Josh Woodrum and the injured Joe Flacco (back).
Adding another established veteran to the mix is interesting. Mallett went 9 of 18 for 58 yards in Baltimore's preseason-opening win over the Washington Redskins this week -- a performance that was complimented by head coach John Harbaugh, but not exactly one that quieted Mallett's outside critics. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported earlier that Baltimore would only turn to Kaepernick if the team believed it needed an upgrade over Mallett.
"(Mallett) did some really good things in the ballgame, and some other things we missed a little bit," Ravens offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said Monday, per ESPN.com. "It was several people's problems there. And hopefully, we've gotten that straightened out."
When and how will the next saga in Ravens Quarterback Theater turn? Stay tuned ...
