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Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

It was improbable. The Baltimore Ravens made another playoff run in 2008 based on a defense that used the art of suffocation (oh, and Ed Reed) and an offense that improved dramatically over the previous years. John Harbaugh was impressive as coach, putting a rookie quarterback out to toss the ball around and sticking with him through thick (17-29, 248 yards, 2 TDs in Week 9) and thin (11-28, 115 yards, 2 INTs in Week 15).

Now the team has to figure out what to do about a superstar in Ray Lewis, and how they should handle other important positional players (hello Mr. Stover) in order to return to (and move past) the AFC Championship game without their defensive coordinator.

You can go ahead and check 2008 as a year Troy Smith will be happy to forget.

The former Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State was in line to be the next starting quarterback for the Ravens, taking over a position that Kyle Boller had struggled with and hopefully improve the team's weakest link. That plan hid the skids when Smith was diagnosed with a severe case of tonsillitis and had a blood clot in his neck to boot.

"This is extraordinarily unlucky," said Dr. Andrew Tucker, the Ravens' head physician. "It a rare complication of a very severe tonsil infection."

Now 20 pounds lighter, Smith has been cleared to practice with the team for the first time since August 22. The good news is it doesn't appear he will miss the entire season, which would make him the second quarterback to be placed in injured reserve for the Ravens after Boller.

Coach John Harbaugh indicated the Ravens don't plan to place Smith on injured reserve, which would end his season.

"We're pretty certain that he's going to be back playing for the bulk of the season," Harbaugh said.

Rookie Joe Flacco, who impressed in his first NFL start against the Bengals, will again be the main man against the Browns on Sunday. Todd Bouman and Casey Bramlet are both behind Flacco on the depth chart as of now for the Ravens.

Just like going to the dentist or eating around a swimming hole, when Chris Mortensen "breaks" some news for ESPN, you need to wait a little while before continuing with your normal affairs.

Yesterday it was reported that the Ravens had signed Joey Harrington to a quarterback crew that might be auditioning for the new reality show "Four Quarterbacks, No Fantasy Love," but that news turned out to be a little premature. John Clayton is now reporting that Baltimore signed Todd Bouman for a one-year deal for $830,000.

The 36-year-old Bouman has bounced around the league and now lands with his sixth different team at a time where decent quarterback are actually music to the ears of the coaches. With Kyle Boller out with an injured shoulder and Troy Smith still recovering from infected tonsils, the Ravens are starting rookie Joe Flacco this weekend against the Bengals.

The addition of Bouman at least gives a young, inexperienced quarterbacking squad the pleasure of having an old, inexperienced quarterback to lean on. Bouman has a career quarterback rating of 75.3 and has thrown as many career touchdowns, 11, as interceptions. Sounds like a Raven to me!

There is one truth that I think can be held self-evident for all eternity: if your professional football team signed Joey Harrington, you are in for a really, really rough year.

Harrington has been a whipping boy and failure in both Detroit and Atlanta, the two biggest FAILs in professional football (or at least "arguably"). Now he joins the corps of crummy QBs that the Baltimore Ravens host.

Due to the current uncertainty with their quarterbacks, the Ravens brought in Harrington, Chris Simms (released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Todd Bouman (released by the Jaguars) for workouts Monday and decided to sign Harrington because he has the most recent playing experience.

Seriously? Harrington outperformed anyone? Didn't Bouman kind of ball last year for the Skins? (No. Of course he did not. I blame Joey --> signed --> flummoxed.) How can this even be real? I guess the only feasible explanation is that Harrington is similar to Mittens in that he can play "well" when there's little to no pressure, and thusly tricks teams into purchasing his services at quarterback. Or he flashes some upside or something and people get fooled.

UPDATE: Florio is saying that this report is false. I sincerely hope so. Because, well ... SCOOOOOOP.

On Thursday, Tom Mantzouranis wrote that the Rams better hope Marc Bulger can play tomorrow because backup Gus Frerotte is on the shelf, and third-stringer, Brock Berlin, hadn't taken any snaps with the team before yesterday. Well, guess what? Bulger, like Frerotte, will be on the sidelines against the Bengals, and Berlin will make his first NFL start.

Two sources told the Post-Dispatch on Friday that Marc Bulger (concussion) will be sidelined for a second week. Coach Scott Linehan said Bulger didn't feel well after team meetings Thursday afternoon. Bulger was in uniform Friday, but Berlin took most of the snaps with the first team.

The Rams also signed 11-year veteran Todd Bouman to serve as Berlin's emergency backup. Interestingly, St. Louis traded third-year quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to Cincinnati a week before the season. Wonder if they regret that?

Fitzpatrick was originally drafted in the seventh round out of that NFL football factory, Harvard. He started three games as a rookie, and also led the Rams to a come-from-behind victory over the Texans, completing 19 of 30 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns.

Berlin, on the other hand, was the No. 1 recruit coming out of high school, and still ranks fourth on the all-time career passing list. And apparently, that's where he peaked. Berlin headed to Florida, couldn't beat out Rex Grossman, transferred to University of Miami, and after college ended up in NFL Europe. Not exactly how Berlin and his high school guidance counselor planned out, I'm guessing.

In any event, against the Rams, Fitzgerald will be Carson Palmer's backup, not doing either team any good.

Last Sunday, I mentioned that during the CBS Pregame Show, Charley Casserly talked about all The List. Those quarterbacks NFL general managers have on speed dial in case anybody went down with an injury.

Obviously, Vinny Testaverde and Tim Rattay topped the list, and in the last seven days, Todd Bouman has been signed, but there are two names conspicuously absent from NFL rosters. One is Aaron Brooks, who, depending on what you believe, has been blackballed. The other, is 1993 first-overall pick, Drew Bledsoe.

But Bledsoe retired this off-season, in part because he had lost his starting job to Tony Romo. Apparently, he was happy watching The Price Is Right (with Drew Carey!) and fishing. Still, a handful of teams have showed interest in recent weeks, but Bledsoe likes his new life.

In today's New York Times, William Rhoden wonders on the whereabouts of former NFL quarterback Aaron Brooks. Brooks was New Orleans' starter for six seasons before, playing half of '06 in Oakland. Now he's looking for work.

But with guys like Vinny Testaverde, Tim Rattay, and Todd Bouman all getting second, third ..., nth chances, what gives with Brooks? Rhoden has some thoughts:

Brooks may still be serving time for the comments he made in 2005 when the Saints, like New Orleans itself, were demoralized by unimaginable upheavals caused by Katrina....

Brooks had had enough. During an interview with CBS, he blasted the N.F.L. and the Saints' owner, Tom Benson, pointing out that for someone who stands to make $600 million from the sale of the team, "I don't think a couple million would hurt to make his team feel very comfortable every week."

I'm sure both the NFL suits and Benson cringed at the remarks at the time, but I can't imagine that has anything to do with why Brooks isn't back in the league. Let's be honest, Brooks put up good numbers, but he'd do just enough to get you beat.

Plus, he was never especially accurate, wasn't afraid to take a sack, and had a knack for throwing picks in the worst possible situations. I suspect that has much more to do with his current job prospects than comments following Hurricane Katrina. Comments, by the way, that were much more on target than most of his throws.

Both Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times and Mike Preston of Ravens Central are talking today about the trend of teams carrying only two quarterbacks on their rosters rather than the standard three. Preston says the Ravens aren't alone here, as 17 other teams are in the same boat. He believes that it's just another indication of the dearth of quality quarterbacks in the league, mentioning that the best option available on the open market right now is ex-Vikings quarterback Todd Bouman.

Excuse me if that doesn't sound like much of a solution. The risk for the Ravens is particularly acute, as both starter Steve McNair and backup Kyle Boller have a checkered history when it comes to injuries. The way the offensive line played in stretches during the preseason, I'd be surprised if McNair wasn't counting on spending at least a few weeks on the injured list this season.

So what happens in the catastrophic event that both McNair and Boller were knocked out of the game? Apparently the only choice is second-year wide receiver Mark Clayton (that's him in the picture). The last time he played quarterback in a game that mattered was in his junior year of high school back in Texas.

Whether you believe in the power of prayer or just in crossing your fingers, this might be a good time.