New York Jets veteran quarterback Joe Flacco wants to compete, help Sam Darnold develop
Joe Flacco wants to play football, the veteran quarterback and latest New York Jets signing saying he wants to help develop young quarterback Sam Darnold while also saying he still has competitive juices.
Last Friday, the Jets signed Flacco to a one-year deal, adding the well-established quarterback to back-up Darnold. In Flacco, the Jets have a tremendous option to help mature and develop Darnold. But the addition of Flacco gives the Jets good depth at the position should Darnold not be available to play.
After all, Flacco is a former Super Bowl MVP and boasts a lifetime 10-5 record in the postseason. On Tuesday, he spoke to SiriusXM NFL Radio. Hosts Jim Miller and Patrick Kirwan started the Flacco interview by talking about his move to the Jets.
Flacco played last year with the Denver Broncos after 11 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
“I want to first and foremost help the team in any way possible but also, be a guy Sam can lean on and learn from. Those are the two most important things - help out the guys on the team and help Sam to do all they can,” Flacco told SiriusXm NFL Radio.
“And then for me personally, I want to play football. I had some things happen, got injured and have had to surgery and, you know I’ve got to find my way back into the league. I want to play for years to come. I think these guys have given me a great opportunity. And I hope to make the most of whatever my situation and whatever my role ends up being.”
All quotes came from audio provided by Sirius XM.
As for getting ready for the season and diving into the Jets playbook, Flacco admitted to not knowing much. This offseason has been disjointed for the NFL, given the social distancing guidelines imposed across the country and the league’s shutting down of team facilities in response to COVID-19.
This means that Flacco hasn’t really been able to get into the playbook yet, something that is clearly frustrating for the veteran quarterback but also produces a laugh when he talks about it.
“It’ll be interesting to see. I haven’t been around this offense before, maybe there are a couple different things that are similar in terms of what I’ve been around. But overall, I have not been around this offense,” Flacco said.
“It’s hard to even speak on because I don’t know much about it so I can’t say what’s familiar and what’s not because I know nothing at this point. I just think it will really be a lot of fun. When you’re a football player and you like playing football and all those things, I think it is a good opportunity to learn more and to grow and become a better quarterback.”
His offseason has been spent healing up following seeing his lone season in Denver cut short due to a neck injury. He said the procedure “was a pretty basic surgery.”
Flacco won’t be ready for training camp.
“I wouldn’t say it was a big deal. I feel really normal right now but it’s still a big decision and I wanted to try and put it off if I could,” Flacco told Miller and Kirwan.
“At the same if that meant I wasn’t going to be able to play football again, then I’d have to make that decision and get the surgery done. My mind was just all over the place, even a couple months the offseason. I was just going kind of going crazy about the whole thing. So the fact that I finally got it done, and put all that behind me and move forward now and look forward to football, that’s the biggest thing for me.”
