Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley
The Steve McNair news conference had a much different feel than Brett Favre's farewell speech. It seemed like Favre was questioning his decision almost from the start, but McNair was resolute in his decision to walk away.
He seemed a bit emotional at first, but after a few minutes of speaking, he sounded really confident that he'd made the correct decison. Flanked by Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and GM Ozzie Newsome, McNair spoke for about 15 minutes. I thought it was a nice touch that the Ravens brought in longtime teammates Samari Rolle and Derrick Mason to address reporters after McNair was finished.
McNair spent the past couple of months trying to see if his body would allow him to play at a high level. He said he walked away because he didn't think he could help Baltimore win football games.
"It's sad, it's very emotional," said McNair, "but at the same time, I'm opening up a lot more doors."
He talked about the toll his 13-year career had taken on his family, and how he was looking forward to spending more time with his kids. McNair said he walked up to Newsome recently and said, "I'm not going to pull your leg. Mentally, I can play two or three more years. Physically, I just can't get it back. I don't have the physical tools it takes to play this game at a high level. My mind was telling me yes, and my body was telling me, 'No, what are doing?'"
Newsome said that McNair's retirement will not affect the club's approach to the draft "one iota." He expects to receive several calls from veteran quarterbacks, but warned agents to wait until after the draft. Baltimore has been very up-front about its desire to identify a franchise quarterback in this draft. They'd obviously love for Matt Ryan to slip to No. 8, but if he doesn't, Joe Flacco is someone to keep your eye on in the second round.
The Ravens drafted Derek Anderson in the sixth round three years ago, but they released him when they needed a veteran quarterback. They believe that Flacco has more athletic ability than Anderson and is a more polished product than Anderson was coming out of college.
Asked about his team's quarterback situation, Harbaugh said, "We lost our incumbent, now it's wide open."
This is Kyle Boller's job to lose (again), but if and when he falters, I'm sure Ravens fans will be calling for the rookie. And by the way, keep your eye on this Darren McFadden situation. If he somehow slips to No. 8, the Ravens will suddenly gain a ton of leverage in this draft.
Much more to come.
