The Jets needed to find an experienced backup quarterback this offseason. Enter Joe Flacco.
Flacco committed to a one-year deal worth up to $4.5 million on Friday. He brings a winning pedigree and a resume filled to the brim with starting experience. He won’t push Sam Darnold for the starting job, but will be a more than capable backup should Darnold get hurt. Darnold has already missed six games in just two seasons.
With that said, let’s get to know the Jets’ latest addition to the quarterback room. Here are seven things to know about Flacco.
Historic Postseason Run
On his way to leading the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory over the San Franciso 49ers and earning Super Bowl MVP honors in the process, Joe Flacco had one of the more memorable performances by a quarterback in postseason history.
Flacco completed 73 of 126 passes for 1,140 yards, 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in four games during the 2012 playoffs. Flacco capped the run by completing 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three first-half touchdowns in Baltimore’s second Super Bowl victory in franchise history.
Big, Athletic Family
Joe Flacco is one of six kids, and the group is rather athletic.
His younger brother, Mike, spent time in the Baltimore Orioles organization. After playing football at the University of New Haven, he had short stints with the Chargers and Jaguars before trying out with the Jets. The Ravens gave him the opportunity of trying out, too, but it didn’t come to fruition.
Another brother John, walked onto the Stanford University Football team as a defensive back, while Brian was a wrestler. Flacco’s only sister Stephanie, was a standout field hockey and basketball player in high school. Flacco’s youngest brother, Tom, played quarterback for three different schools at Western Michigan University, Rutgers and Towson.
Starting Experience
Joe Flacco’s experience as a starter is the biggest reason why the Jets went after him.
The Jets are 0-6 when Darnold doesn’t start. They also have an 11-game losing streak when their backup quarterback is forced into a starting role. Flacco is more than capable of keeping the Jets afloat if Darnold is forced to miss time like he has the previous two seasons. Flacco has 171 career starts under his belt.
For his career, Flacco has a 98-73 record across 12 seasons as a starter. He’s thrown for 40,067 passing yards, with 218 touchdowns and 141 interceptions.
Joe Douglas Connection
Back when Joe Douglas was in the Baltimore Ravens scouting department, working as a Northeast area scout, he discovered Joe Flacco at the University of Delaware.
“He had an enthusiasm in his voice that, knowing Joe, he’s not the type of guy who is going to get real excited about anything,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But I knew Joe, and I knew Joe was excited about this quarterback.”
Douglas played in an instrumental role in convincing the Ravens front office brass that Flacco was their guy. The Ravens wound up making Flacco their first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. The rest is history. Flacco is looked upon as one of the greatest quarterbacks to play for the franchise after leading the Ravens to their second Super Bowl victory in 2012.
Coming off Injury
After going 2-6 as a starter in Denver, the Broncos placed Flacco on injured reserve in November after he suffered a herniated disk in his neck.
The Broncos released Flacco in March with a failed physical designation. Flacco underwent neck surgery in early April and is expected to be ready to participate without contact in training camp, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Flacco is expected to be cleared by Sept. 1, per Schefter.
If Flacco’s health holds up, the Jets quarterback depth chart is likely already set. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, neither David Fales nor Mike White will beat out Jets’ fourth-round pick James Morgan for the Jets’ final quarterback spot on the depth chart. With Flacco recovering, Morgan could see more No. 2 reps than originally thought during training camp.
Making History
When Joe Flacco was drafted out of the University of Delaware in 2008, he became the first FCS quarterback to be drafted in the first round since 1995 when Steve McNair was drafted by the Houston Oilers out of Alcorn State University.
Since then, Carson Wentz (North Dakota State) is the only other quarterback from an FCS school to be taken in the first round. While Flacco’s selection was viewed as a reach at the time, it has helped eliminate the stigma around small-school quarterbacks being taken earlier in the draft.
Mentor?
While Sam Darnold had Josh McCown and Trevor Siemian to lean on as mentors for his first two NFL seasons, the Jets are bringing in Joe Flacco to be more a competitive backup than anything.
Flacco has said that it isn’t his job to mentor young quarterbacks. In 2019, he didn’t view it as his responsibility to mentor Broncos second-round pick Drew Lock. While he wished him well, he wasn’t going to go out of his way to be a guide for Lock.
“Listen, I have so many things to worry about. I’m trying to go out there and play the best football of my life,” Flacco said in May 2019. “As far as a time constraint and all of that stuff, I’m not worried about developing guys or any of that. That is what it is. I hope he does it well. I don’t look at that as my job. My job is to go win football games for this football team.”
Now that Flacco is entering the twilight of his NFL career and accepting a backup role with the Jets, he could be singing a different tune about mentorship. However, it should not be expected that he’ll take a Frank Gore-like approach in the Jets locker room.
