Ravens to Sign Bouman

The mystery is over.

The Ravens officially unveiled Todd Bouman as the new quarterback in Charm City.

Bouman will serve as the top backup to rookie starter Joe Flacco. To make room for Bouman, the Ravens placed Kyle Boller, Baltimore’s first-round draft pick in 2003 on Injured Reserve.

Boller started 42 career games for Baltimore and was slated to compete with Troy Smith to open the season under center, but a shoulder injury suffered in the Ravens’ preseason contest with the Minnesota Vikings on Aug. 16 hasn’t allowed him to practice in weeks.

Smith was diagnosed with a tonsils infection that required a hospital stay and antibiotics last week. The former Heisman Trophy winner, who lost what seems to be 15-20 pounds, is still far from being able to play.

That left Flacco as the sole signal-caller on the Ravens’ roster.

Bouman comes to Charm City with 42 career games played and six starts under his belt. The St. Cloud State product entered the league in 1997 and has spent time with Minnesota, New Orleans, Green Bay and Jacksonville, completing 129 of 230 attempts for 1,683 yards, 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He possesses a 75.3 career passer rating.

Bouman was selected over Joey Harrington and Chris Simms, both of whom also came to Baltimore for a workout this week.

"We thought he was the best fit for us," said head coach John Harbaugh.  "He’s been in the offense before. He had a very good workout. The other guys had good workouts as well, but we thought that he was the best fit for us at this time.”