Of the 39 teams that have won a Super Bowl, only one – the 2000 Baltimore Ravens – informed its quarterback after the season that his services were no longer needed.

That quarterback, Trent Dilfer, will lead the Cleveland Browns onto the field against the Ravens Sunday, starting in Baltimore for the first time since that championship season. For Ravens fans, Dilfer’s presence will be a bitter reminder that their team threw away a competent quarterback in a futile effort to find a star, wasting draft picks and millions of dollars in the process.

Since 2001, when the Ravens signed Elvis Grbac to a five-year, $30 million contract, Baltimore quarterbacks have played so poorly that even with one of the NFL’s best defenses, the Ravens haven’t finished better than 10-6. Grbac left after one disappointing year, and the Ravens’ other starters have been a mishmash of washed-up veterans and disappointing youngsters: Randall Cunningham, Jeff Blake, Chris Redman, Kyle Boller, and Anthony Wright.

Dilfer, meanwhile, spent the last four seasons as a backup in Seattle before joining Cleveland this year. He has started 12 games since Baltimore let him go, performing much the same as he did in the Super Bowl season: far from great, but certainly capable – and available for far less salary cap space than Baltimore’s subsequent quarterbacks. If they had kept Dilfer, the Ravens could have used the money spent on quarterbacks to retain valuable free agents like running back Priest Holmes, center Jeff Mitchell, safety Kim Herring, and linebacker Edgerton Hartwell.

A first-round draft choice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1994, Dilfer was inept early in his career, throwing five touchdowns and 24 interceptions during his first two seasons. After a slight but steady improvement – including a respectable passer rating of 82.8 in 1997 – the best deal he could find after his Tampa Bay contract expired was a one-year pact to back up Tony Banks up in Baltimore in 2000.

Dilfer started 2000 on the bench, but when Banks proved ineffective, Dilfer took the helm halfway through the year and led Baltimore to seven straight wins to end the regular season, then three playoff wins, and a Super Bowl victory over the Giants. Only two players have quarterbacked their teams to the championship after entering the season with a career resume as unimpressive as Dilfer’s – Jeff Hostetler, who took over for an injured Phil Simms and led the Giants in 1990, and Kurt Warner, who went from ex-grocery store clerk to league MVP with the Rams in 1999. Both players were awarded the starting job the following year.

But Ravens coach Brian Billick wasn’t satisfied winning the Super Bowl behind a great defense. Billick had come to Baltimore with a reputation as an offensive mastermind, and he wanted a quarterback who could excel in his system. After Grbac, Billick used draft picks on Redman and Boller, but despite all his efforts, he has consistently presided over some of the worst offenses in the league.

After four games in Cleveland, Dilfer looks like a great fit for a rebuilding team. Cleveland won’t be playing in January, but at 2-2 the Browns have played better than most expected. Dilfer deserves a lot of the credit. His completion rate of 66.7% is excellent, and his average of 7.5 yards per pass is better than that of Donovan McNabb, Brett Favre, and Drew Brees.

The Ravens would kill for numbers like that from their quarterback. They drafted Boller out of Cal in the first round in 2003 largely because of his arm strength, but he rarely puts that attribute to use in throwing downfield, preferring instead to dump short passes to covered receivers. In three seasons, Boller has 20 touchdowns, 21 interceptions, and an average of only 5.6 yards per pass. After Boller went down with a hyperextended toe in the season opener, Wright hasn’t performed any better.

On Sunday, the Ravens will have the superior star power at most positions – linebacker Ray Lewis, safety Ed Reed, running back Jamal Lewis, and left tackle Jonathan Ogden are among Baltimore’s Pro Bowlers, while Cleveland’s roster is devoid of such big names. At quarterback, however, Dilfer gives the advantage to Cleveland.

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.