Joe Flacco admitted Sunday that he has thought a “tiny bit” about starting for the New York Jets against his former team, the Baltimore Ravens, in Week 1 on Sept. 11.
The veteran quarterback is in position to have such thoughts because Zach Wilson will have knee surgery Tuesday. Wilson injured his right knee during a scramble in New York’s 24-21 preseason win against the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday. The Jets will not know how long Wilson will be out until after the surgery, thus opening the door for Flacco to possibly face his former team.
“I’ve probably thought about it a tiny bit, it’s so far away and who knows what’s going to happen at this point,” Flacco said. “But I’ve definitely thought, ‘Oh yeah, it’s not going to be a big deal.' And I’m going to make sure that deep down it’s not the biggest deal in the world, but at the same time I’ve seen guys go through it. It’s a different thing.”
"I've probably thought about it a tiny bit"
Joe Flacco says he has thought about the potential of starting against the Ravens week one: pic.twitter.com/6wbMlwMRo3
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) August 14, 2022
The 37-year-old played his first 11 NFL seasons with the Ravens. He led them to the playoffs six times. The Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII after the 2012 season and Flacco was named Super Bowl MVP.
Flacco was asked what it’s like to now be a veteran backup quarterback on a rebuilding Jets team, 10 years after his Super Bowl triumph.
“Every now and then you think about I’m the oldest person in the room,” Joe Flacco explained. “It’s hard for me to wrap my head around … I view myself as 25, 26 max.”
He added that other players may view him at first as the “old guy” before getting more comfortable the more time they spend with him.
“I don’t view myself as being an old person … but with them I’m like, ‘Uh, OK, you think I’m like 50 years old,'” Flacco said with a laugh. “I feel like I’m kind of a dad who’s easy to pick on and they like laughing at me because of that. So, I embrace it.”
Coach Saleh says QB Zach Wilson's potential availability for Week 1 will become more clear after his procedure. pic.twitter.com/nwXbU9ezrp
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 14, 2022
Age aside, Joe Flacco has had an excellent training camp and coach Robert Saleh recently said he believed the veteran could still be a No. 1 quarterback in the NFL. He’ll get the chance as long as Wilson is sidelined.
“He’s a Super Bowl MVP, you can’t not have confidence in a guy like that,” said center Connor McGovern, who was Flacco’s teammate in 2019 with the Denver Broncos. “He’s the ultimate pro.”
Flacco has been a backup most of the past two seasons in New York. He started four games in 2020 when Sam Darnold was injured and one game last season when Wilson was out. In that Week 11 start in a 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Flacco threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns
“He’s pretty much checked every box you can check,” Saleh said. “We have all the faith in the world in Joe. He’s a pro. He’ll figure out how to get it done.”
And it would be a lot of fun if his run as QB1 led him to start against his former team on opening day.
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