| Less than four months ago, Trent Dilfer was at
the top of the sporting world. He had just helped lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl title
in, of all places, Tampa — the city that had turned its back on him less than a year
earlier. While he hardly looked like the second coming of Joe Montana while wearing the
purple and black colors of the Ravens, he was respectable. In fact, he won 12 of his final
13 starts for the Ravens. That’s a winning percentage that anyone would be mighty
proud of.
Still, it wasn’t good enough for the Ravens, who decided not to re-sign him. To be
honest, I can’t blame Brian Billick, who chose to add Elvis Grbac to his club in an
effort to juice up the offensive attack. But I still can’t help but wonder
what’s in store for Dilfer, who remains unsigned to this date. It’s as if, just
as Tampa turned its back on Dilfer, the entire NFL has turned its back on the winning
quarterback of Super Bowl XXXV.
When he was running off the field in Raymond James Stadium as a Super Bowl champion
last January, it is highly unlikely that Dilfer was worried about his future. Now, though,
with teams holding minicamps, and training camp just a couple of months away, it’s
getting to be crunch time for unsigned players throughout the league.
With Steve Beuerlein apparently headed to the Broncos, it appears as if Dilfer is the
last man standing, in terms of veteran quarterbacks without a team. Many teams had holes
at the QB position this spring, but now all of the starting vacancies have been filled.
The Cowboys signed Tony Banks and drafted Quincy Carter. The Chargers signed Doug Flutie
and drafted Drew Brees. The Chiefs traded for Trent Green and signed Bubby Brister. The
Buccaneers signed Brad Johnson and Ryan Leaf. The Seahawks traded for Matt Hasselbeck and
drafted Josh Booty. The Ravens opted for Grbac.
Each of those teams could have had Dilfer. But each of those teams found a reason to
dismiss the champion. He’s too much of a stiff, drop-back passer, some likely
reasoned. He’s not a very accurate thrower, others likely said. He didn’t win
games for the Ravens last year; he just didn’t lose them, other teams thought.
And so, Dilfer is hanging out in his native Fresno, Calif., waiting for his next shot.
Almost certainly, Dilfer will hook up with a team before the start of training camp. He
says he wants to go to a club where he will have a realistic opportunity to win the
starting job, but that seems unlikely considering he wasn’t part of any team’s
offseason work and will have to learn a new offense quickly.
There have been rumblings that the Redskins are very interested in signing Dilfer but
that they can’t afford to do so until after June 1, when they can clear some
salary-cap space. In my eyes, it would be a good fit for Dilfer and might provide him with
the best shot at getting on the field. After all, Jeff George, the starter heading into
training camp, has not exactly been a model of consistency throughout his NFL career.
And wouldn’t it be fun if Dilfer did it again, this time in Washington, just down
the road from Baltimore? Remember, few people gave the Ravens a shot at the Super Bowl
last season, and no one had the Rams on their championship radar screen the season before.
This year, few people will consider the Skins contenders. But the way things have been
going in the NFL, every team should be considered a contender. If Dilfer winds up on the
Washington roster, while I may not be betting on the Skins, I certainly won’t be
betting against them.
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