This might be the only picture you’ll ever see of Boller in a San Diego uniform. (AP)

With Chargers backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst out for the next few weeks with a knee injury, the team signed journeyman quarterback Kyle Boller to a one-year deal Friday to replace him.

As I wrote, “Boller, [is] 31 years old and probably needs to show some semblance of competence to stay in the league.”

Sounds like Boller has decided he’s finished all on his own.



It’s surprising, because Boller, you know, signed his deal exactly, um, one day ago (!!!). Boller also tried out for the Ravens and the Titans in the offseason after the Raiders didn’t re-sign him, so we wouldn’t hold it against you if you thought that Boller still wanted to play.

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Apparently, that’s not the case anymore, and that means the Chargers only have two healthy quarterbacks on their roster (Rivers and undrafted free agent Jarrett Lee).

In retiring, Boller leaves behind a career that has to be considered disappointing. He was a first-round pick of the Ravens in 2003, but he never turned into the kind of signal-caller former coach Brian Billick expected.

He only completed 60 percent of his passes in two of his eight seasons in the league, and he finished with 48 touchdowns and 54 interceptions. So, he was fairly mediocre as a starter in Baltimore, and since leaving that team after the 2007 season, he bounced between the Rams (and started four games in 2009) and the Raiders, where he was strictly a backup.

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The exception to that came last season in Oakland when he started one game in between the Jason Campbell and Carson Palmer eras. Not surprisingly, an unimpressive Boller was quickly replaced by Palmer. I guess that’s the last we’ll see of him.

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