Did the Jets set themselves up for the dreaded quarterback controversy? The answer is no, according to the most accomplished of their QBs.
Veteran signal-caller Joe Flacco, a former Super Bowl champion the Baltimore Ravens, recently signed with the Jets after one injury-shortened season in Denver. The move made minor waves, given Flacco's standing as a 12-year veteran and one-time franchise cornerstone -- and because the Jets already have their guy in third-year starter Sam Darnold.
On Thursday, though, Flacco cleared the air about the role he expects to fill, suggesting he is ready to hold the clipboard and be a mentor at this juncture of his career.
“I’m fully embracing it,” Flacco said during an introductory conference call, per USA Today. “It’s where I am right now, and I’m glad to be on a team playing football in some capacity. And I think it’s going to be huge to get in there and know the guys, and develop a relationship with the team, and do anything I can to help the team get better and in that process, help Sam with whatever he needs help with.”
Flacco, drafted by the Ravens in 2008 out of the University of Delaware, was limited to just eight games last season due to injury, and there were rumors he might never play again. He had surgery in April to repair disks in his neck, and he isn't expected to be ready for the season opener in September, USA Today reported.
Flacco said he still regarded himself as a starting-caliber player as recently as last season, and while he hasn't entirely ruled out a return to starting down the road, his perspective has changed because of the injury and an offseason spent thinking about his future.
“I obviously still believe that I’m a starting quarterback, and you never know what three years down the line is going to look like, so I still have that confidence and I still have the want, the want to do that. But at this moment, that’s not my role."
The Jets' lack of quarterback depth was exposed early last season, when Darnold was lost for several weeks due to mononucleosis.