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Ravens add Bulger as veteran insurance behind starting QB Flacco

The Baltimore Ravens agreed to a one-year contract with Marc Bulger on Wednesday, giving them a veteran quarterback as a possible starter should Joe Flacco be injured next season.

Bulger's salary will be $3.8 million, but he could receive as much as $5.3 million with incentives, a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora on Wednesday.

The deal will become complete once Bulger, a two-time Pro Bowl pick, passes a physical. He played in just nine games last season before being placed on injured reserve Dec. 26 with a fractured left shin bone.

Bulger, 33, would be the most experienced of the Ravens' backup quarterbacks. He has started 95 games in the NFL, compared to John Beck's four and Troy Smith's two. Flacco has started every game for Baltimore the past two seasons.

NFL.com senior writer Steve Wyche reported Thursday that the Ravens likely will bring all four quarterbacks to training camp next month, but they will keep three for the season. Smith has asked to be traded in the past, so he might be a candidate to leave Baltimore.

In nine seasons, all with the St. Louis Rams, Bulger completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 22,814 yards, with 122 touchdowns and 93 interceptions. He signed a six-year, $65 million contract in training camp in 2007 and had been due $8.5 million for 2010. However, the Ramsreleased Bulger in April, clearing the way for them to select Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft later that month.

Bulger took the Rams' starting quarterback job from Kurt Warner in 2003, then led the team to a 12-4 record. Bulger went to the Pro Bowl in 2004 and 2006, throwing for more than 4,000 yards in '06, but he has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons.

Bulger has 27 games of at least 300 passing yards during his career. In 2008, he became the fifth-fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach the 20,000-yard passing milestone, doing so in just 81 games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.