This past off-season during the draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected QB Lamar Jackson to eventually succeed Joe Flacco as the starting QB. Now that Joe Flacco has missed the last 3 weeks with a hip injury, Baltimore was forced to put Lamar Jackson in the starting lineup earlier than they expected. So that brings up the question Is this the end of the road for Joe Flacco?
Baltimore is 3-0 with Lamar Jackson starting, defeating the Bengals 24-21, Raiders 34-17, and most recently, the Falcons 26-16. In those games that he started, Lamar has totaled 453 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs, 265 rushing yards, and 3 TDs.
“Sure, absolutely. He’s done enough. He’s played great – he’s 3-0, he’s played well”, Head Coach John Harbaugh said after Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons after he was asked if he felt that Jackson has shown enough to be the team’s starter. “What direction we’ll go, we’ll see”.
While those stats don’t look fantastic, Jackson has been getting the job done on the ground and in the air. That gives Baltimore’s offense a new dynamic that they haven’t had with Joe Flacco.
Flacco is 33 years old & will turn 34 next month. Around that age is when some QBs start to fall off. Flacco might be looking at a backup role in Baltimore, or somewhere else in the league.
Baltimore’s QB depth chart currently looks like:
Lamar Jackson
Robert Griffin III
Joe Flacco
Griffin III, 28, could be a nice backup option when/if Jackson takes over the starting job next season.
Baltimore gave Jackson a few weapons for when he takes over the starting job with TE Mark Andrews, TE Hayden Hurst, WR Jordan Lasley, and signed RB Gus Edwards as an undrafted Free Agent. Baltimore also selected top OL Orlando Brown to solidify the OL.
There has also been reports that this could be HC John Harbaugh’s final year in Baltimore. A new HC that Baltimore brings in could look for a fresh start at QB and let Flacco walk.
The Ravens drafted Flacco with the 18th pick in the 1st round of the 2008 draft out of Delaware. In his career, Flacco has totaled 38,245 yards, 212 TDs, 136 INTs, and a passer rating of 84.1. Flacco is also a SuperBowl champion & a SuperBowl MVP.
The Ravens are in playoff contention right now with a 7-5 record and are 2nd in the AFC North. Right now, the Ravens are on fire with Lamar Jackson at helm, so Harbaugh will have a tough decision to make at QB before the playoffs begin.