The Indianapolis Colts lured supposedly retired quarterback Kerry Collins out of retirement today and signed him to a contract as further insurance for starter Peyton Manning. Reportedly, Manning may miss the season opener and depending on his recovery, more games are in question. In the meantime, they will have a veteran QB who can pick up the new offense and run it. Obviously Collins isn't and never was a "Peyton Manning-esque" type of thrower, but he may be a solid addition to get the Colts to the point when Manning can take back the helm under center.
So then, if Collins hasn't filed his retirement papers and could return to the NFL, then why can't the Baltimore Ravens do the same thing with Marc Bulger, who recently announced he was retiring as well, yet has still not filed his retirement papers with the league's office. The Ravens publicly are stating that they are comfortable with rookie QB Tyrod Taylor backing up starting QB Joe Flacco, but most people think they are secretly looking and waiting to make a move to sign a veteran QB.
Even if the team brings in a seasoned veteran to back up Flacco, they will not know the playbook or be cmfortable in this offense anytime soon. However, Bulger knows the playbook, is comfortable in Cam Cameron's offense and could step in with little or no Training Camp under his belt and play the backup role for another season. Hopefully, Joe will continue to remain healthy and start every game as he has so far in his three-year NFL career, but knowing you have a comfortable veteran presence on the sidelines would be a great relief to the team and its fans going into an exciting 2011 NFL season.