In a move that shakes up the NFL, the Broncos acquired the Ravens’ long-time veteran quarterback, Joe Flacco.
The NFL offseason has been going strong for nine days, and unlike in the MLB, football’s offseason has been hectic.
To add on to the hectic signings and news of the last few days, a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter surfaced this morning that the Baltimore Ravens have agreed, in principle, to a trade that sends veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos in a move that won’t be official for another month, when the new league year begins.
Breaking: Baltimore has agreement in principle to trade former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco to the Broncos, league sources told ESPN.
Trade cannot be processed until new NFL league year begins Wednesday, March 13. Teams prohibited from commenting on deal or terms surrounding it.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 13, 2019
Prior to the trade, Flacco had been a Raven for life after being drafted by Baltimore in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft. For the first seven years of his career, Flacco started every single game of the regular season before that number dropped to 10 in 2015 due to an injury. He returned to starting every game in 2016 and 2017 before that number dropped again in 2018, this time being benched in favor of speedy rookie sensation Lamar Jackson, who quickly locked up the starting role and showed the front office that he is the quarterback of the future.
In 2018, Flacco went 4-5 with 232 completions on 379 attempts for 2,465 yards. He connected on 12 touchdowns while being intercepted six times.
Jackson turned the Ravens around and led them to the playoffs before being defeated in the first round by the Los Angeles Chargers in a game where the Ravens started a comeback but couldn’t cap the game off with a win.
As Schefter states, “new Broncos HC Vic Fangio spent one season in Baltimore while Joe Flacco was Ravens’ QB and knows what he will be getting.” Case Keenum is still under contract with Denver for another season, and both of them are aging so it will be interesting to see what the Broncos foresee in their future; don’t rule out the idea of them drafting a quarterback with their first-round pick, either.
NFL Fan Blitz's Keaton Henry also contributed to this article.
