Patrick Ramsey

Ramsey, a former starter with Washington and a backup for the last few years, was signed to be the Titans' third-string quarterback behind Kerry Collins and Vince Young. That said, with Young's future somewhat cloudy, there's a chance he could contend for the No. 2 spot.

Ramsey will be the primary backup to Jay Cutler this season and with Cutler's firm hold on the job, Ramsey is not expected to produce.

Ramsey was brought to New York to challenge Chad Pennington, but he might not be viewed as a long-term solution because the Jets also drafted Kellen Clemens in the first day of the draft. The quicker the Jets can get the Redskin experience wiped from Ramsey's memory, the better. Two weeks into training camp, it looks like Ramsey will begin the year as the No. 2 QB in New York. Don't expect anything special from Ramsey if Pennington does falter, as the puzzle pieces just aren't there right now with the Jets offense.

It’s hard to buy the company line that the Redskins still have confidence in Ramsey after they signed Mark Brunell to a ridiculous contract in 2004 and then spent their first-round draft pick this year on Ramsey’s presumed successor, Jason Campbell. Ramsey himself is just 26 years old and hasn’t really had a chance to prove himself unless you count his 48-sack pounding in 21 games under Steve Spurrier or his inheriting a trainwreck of an offense from Mark Brunell last season under Joe Gibbs. Ramsey heads into 2005 with the starting job, so he’ll get that chance. Ramsey’s got excellent arm strength and can fit passes into tight spaces, but he’s a streaky player, prone to some poor decision-making and lacks great mobility to avoid the rush. If the Redskins can do a better job of protecting Ramsey this year, he has the tools to be a productive pocket passer. Just keep in mind that his receiving corps, which has the diminutive Santana Moss and not a whole lot else, is average at best.

Ramsey was hung out to dry by coach Steve Spurrier last year and left so shell-shocked by the constant battering that the Redskins' staff thinks he'll need two years to recover. Ramsey really struggled throwing the ball in '03 (20.2 percent of his throws were misfired, second worst to Drew Bledsoe). The starting job in '04 is clearly Mark Brunell's. But Joe Gibbs is bullish on Ramsey's Redskins future.

There's little doubt that Ramsey has the ability and the supporting cast to be a solid QB in the NFL. We saw plenty of proof in 2002 that he's something special. All he really needs now is for coach Steve Spurrier to show a little patience, something the ol' ball coach wasn't able to do last year as he made five QB changes during the season. Ramsey had a three-touchdown game at Philadelphia last December, the clear highlight of his season, and he was a lot better at avoiding sacks in his second tour of duty as a starter. With Laveranues Coles added to the receiver lineup to go along with Rod Gardner, Ramsey has two excellent targets with which to work – if Spurrier can shelve his ego and stop fiddling with his QB situation on a week-by-week basis.