Ex-Buckeye Smith makes Ravens cut

BALTIMORE — Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith has earned the job as the Baltimore Ravens' third-string quarterback. His place on the team, however, is not yet guaranteed.

The Ravens cut former UCLA quarterback Drew Olson on Monday, leaving Smith alone on the depth chart behind starter Steve McNair and backup Kyle Boller.

"What still has to be determined is if we'll carry two or three quarterbacks on the active roster," Baltimore coach Brian Billick said. "Last year we carried two."

Even if the Ravens go with only two quarterbacks, Smith will almost certainly earn a paycheck on Baltimore's practice squad. That's no small feat for the last player drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft, in part because he was deemed by some scouts to be too small to be a pro quarterback.

The 6-foot, 225-pound Smith had only two games to make an impression on the Ravens coaching staff. His third opportunity was washed away when lightning ended Saturday's preseason game against the Washington Redskins in the third quarter.

Smith was 3-for-11 for 34 yards in the opener against Philadelphia and 4-for-8 for 60 yards against the New York Giants. Olson was 7-for-9 for 84 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles, but only 1-for-4 for 6 yards against New York.

Rather than wait to make a decision, the Ravens cut ties with Olson — who played in NFL Europa and was on Baltimore's practice squad last year — and went with Smith.

"You just know there's loads and loads of potential there," offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel said. "It's difficult in the short time that we've been with him to get all that out of him, especially because he's trying to indoctrinate himself into a new offense, new terminology and all that kind of stuff.

"We made the decision to bank on the huge upside that Troy has," Neuheisel said.

Smith won the Heisman Trophy, threw 54 touchdown passes at Ohio State and led the Buckeyes into the national championship game last season. His outstanding college career couldn't prepare him for the NFL.

On Sunday, Smith was engaged in a friendly competition with Olson. On Monday, Olson was gone.

STEELERS CUT BARLOW: Kevan Barlow, a former 49ers and Jets running back who signed with his hometown Steelers earlier this year, was among 10 players released Monday during Pittsburgh's first roster cutdown.

The moves trimmed the roster to 75 players. The Steelers must reach the season-opening 53-man limit by Saturday, two days after their preseason finale at Carolina.

Three rookie free agents cut were wide receiver Eric Fowler, defensive end Derrick Jones and long snapper Jared Retkofsky. Also released were running back Larry Croom, punter Mike Barr, kicker Connor Hughes, linebacker Richard Koonce, center Donovan Raiola and wide receiver Dan Sheldon.

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