Joe Flacco won't have to worry about losing his job to another rookie quite yet
After the Denver Broncos selected Drew Lock in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft, Joe Flacco likely had flashbacks to one year earlier when his Baltimore Ravens drafted his eventual replacement, Lamar Jackson.
The good news for Flacco is that this time around, he should have a bit more breathing room.
First-year Broncos head coach Vic Fangio spoke to the media on Sunday and quashed any rumors of a quarterback battle during OTAs.
"Joe will take all of the reps with the first team," Fangio said, via NFL.com. "Then we have an open competition after that and we'll randomly play those with the twos and the threes when we do our reps."
Whether or not the Broncos will consider giving playing time to Lock in the regular season will be answered later, but the team is certainly moving to appease its new veteran quarterback for now. Flacco got most of the first-team reps in Ravens camp last year but ceded some on the final day to Jackson, who impressed.
Flacco didn’t lose significant playing time last season — beyond a few gadget plays — until he went down with a hip injury in Week 9. However, Jackson was so good in his stead that Flacco remained as the backup even after he was cleared to return.
Part of the issue was that the Ravens won when Jackson played well, just as Lock could if he gets an extended opportunity to show off his powerful arm. But Flacco also ranked 28th among 33 qualified quarterbacks with a 84.2 quarterback rating, 31st with 6.50 yards per attempt and 29th with a 61.2 percent completion rate.
Staying healthy will be key to keeping the starting job, but the team is hoping the high altitude and change of scenery will bring out even better performance as well. General manager John Elway thinks Flacco is only entering his prime.
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