“I’m really feeling like we got a steal,” coach John Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh has a point when looking at the alternatives. Some 22 quarterbacks have signed in the first three weeks of free agency, including the likes of David Fales, Tyler Bray and Matt McGloin.

Who’s left? Matt Cassel, Mark Sanchez, Austin Davis and Derek Anderson are among those unsigned. Colin Kaepernick would’ve been another option because he was out of the league last season, like Griffin. But Kaepernick carries more baggage: He is currently involved in a collusion lawsuit against the NFL, and last summer his girlfriend posted a tweet deemed “racist” by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, who was featured with Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti in the post.

All of a sudden, the addition of Griffin, 28, isn’t so off the wall when looking at the current quarterback landscape. Griffin is a strong-armed quarterback who can make plays with his feet. He has some semblance of a track record, particularly early in his career. The knocks on him have been his inability to stay healthy and a reputation for not being able to read defenses.

With limited cap space, Baltimore had limited choices when looking for a veteran passer. Harbaugh made the point last week that the team couldn’t spend $3 million on a backup, and even suggested that practice-squad quarterback Josh Woodrum could serve as the No. 2. It just would’ve been too much of a gamble to give that job to Woodrum, who has never thrown a regular-season pass.

There’s also no guarantee that Griffin is on Baltimore’s regular-season roster. The Ravens have repeatedly talked about wanting to develop a young passer, and they continued to rave about the depth of this year’s quarterback class. Assistant general manager Eric DeCosta believes eight to 10 quarterbacks in this draft could become starters by the time their rookie deals are over.

If the Ravens select a quarterback in the second or third round, Baltimore could decide to go with a rookie as the primary backup and cut Griffin at the end of the preseason. The Ravens made Tyrod Taylor their No. 2 quarterback in 2011 after drafting him in the sixth round.

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Given how fast quarterbacks fly off the board, Baltimore understands there’s no guarantee the team will get a young passer in this draft. The Ravens haven’t drafted a quarterback the past three years.

Even if the Ravens draft a quarterback, they would still need a fallback plan if the rookie struggles in training camp and the preseason, proving he’s not ready to be the backup right away. This is why Baltimore needed to sign someone like Griffin.

The Ravens’ backup situation has been far from stellar in recent years. Ryan Mallett, who threw five interceptions during one training-camp practice last year, has yet to draw any interest in free agency.

Baltimore didn’t have that luxury, needing to use its cap space to revamp the wide receiver group. The signing of Griffin should be considered one that comes with minimal risks and minimal expectations.

The Rams will be without a first-round pick for the second consecutive year. They were hoping to use this year’s pick to help address drastic needs at linebacker.

The 23rd overall pick will be the Patriots’ highest in the draft since 2012, when they selected Chandler Jones 21st overall. In addition, they now have two first-round picks in the same draft for the third time under Belichick. In 2012, they selected Jones and Dont’a Hightower. In 2004, they took Vince Wilfork and Benjamin Watson.

ESPN.com Rams reporter Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.

They’ve tried everything.

They’ve rummaged through the recycle bin (Josh McCown and Ryan Fitzpatrick), they’ve tried their luck in the second round (Hackenberg and Geno Smith) and they’ve rented a hired gun (Brett Favre). Their last first-round pick was Mark Sanchez in 2009, and that was working for a couple of years — until it wasn’t.

After failing to secure the only quick fix in the 2018 market — Kirk Cousins said no — Maccagnan went back to his days as an economics student. He took some of his best assets (three second-round picks, including one in 2019) and sold them off for a chance to score with a potential high-yield investment — easily the boldest move of his tenure.

The blockbuster trade with the Indianapolis Colts, which allowed the Jets to climb three spots in the draft order, carries considerable risk. It’s an all-in move that will leave Maccagnan out of a job in a couple of years if it backfires.

•Mel Kiper’s Mock Draft 3.0 »
•Todd McShay’s Mock Draft 3.0 »
• Kiper’s Big Board » | McShay’s Top 32 »
• Teams with most, least draft capital »
•Projecting QB booms, busts »
•Kiper: Re-grading 2017 NFL draft »

“I don’t like necessarily giving up the picks, per se, to move up,” said Maccagnan, adding he did it because it’s a chance to “potentially help yourself in the bigger scheme of things.”

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. called it “a hefty price to pay,” saying the Jets essentially gave up three potential starters — the draft picks that went to the Colts — to select perhaps the third-best quarterback. In that context, yeah, it doesn’t look like a sound move, but no one will remember the compensation if the quarterback develops into a long-term solution.

It’s a calculated gamble, but you know what? You can’t sit back, passively, and wait for the next Tom Brady in the sixth round. You can’t win a Lombardi Trophy by playing it by the book. To quote Tom Cruise in “Risky Business,” sometimes you just have to say … well, you know.

“We do think there are some very good quarterback prospects in this class,” Maccagnan said. “They all have different strengths and maybe some different areas of concern or weakness. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve been to all these pro days, because there are some real viable guys there that you think may be good additions if they fall to us in the right spot.”

The question is, can Maccagnan learn from his past quarterback mistakes?

Enter Bostic, who wasn’t a splashy free agent because of injuries and mostly backup production in his first three seasons. But getting a player fresh off a 97-tackle season for two years and $4 million made sense to the Steelers.

Once they secured Bostic, they circled back with Burnett, whom they had called the week before. Tyrann Mathieu’s signing for one year and $7 million with the Houston Texans signaled a weak safety market. The Steelers took advantage.

“We just let it play out,” Colbert said about their free-agency approach. “We knew when we looked at the market we knew that we were only going to be able to do certain things within our own limitations, again, after we made the reductions on our own roster. So as the market unfolds we reacted to it and we were happy to get Burnett and John Bostic from the picks.”

Kirk Cousins. Jimmy Graham. Andrew Norwell. This class is already wild. Here’s everything to know.

Sensible contracts: Burnett’s $14.35 million deal over three years seems hefty for a cash-strapped team, but the structure of the contract works for Pittsburgh. The signing bonus of $4.25 million spread over three years, coupled with a $1 million base salary in Year 1, equals a modest $2.416 million cap hit in 2018. That leaves nearly $10 million of salary on the final two years, but those are not guaranteed.

Add Bostic’s $1.5 million cap hit and the Steelers just got two starters for less than $4 million this year.