The Jets have added a Super Bowl-winning quarterback to their roster on Friday.
The team reached a deal with former Ravens and Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco, according to his agent Joe Linta. The deal is for one year with a base of $1.5 million with $3 million possible in incentives.
Due to neck surgery earlier this spring, Flacco, unfortunately, won’t be available right away when the Jets report to camp in person. He is however expected to get clearance for non-contact drills in early August, and then full clearance in mid to late September. Linta said Flacco is already throwing.
The move does not come as a surprise, as the Jets desperately needed a veteran backup for Sam Darnold. The team re-signed David Fales last month and drafted James Morgan in the fourth round out of Florida International, but neither of these options will have much of an impact for this season. Flacco has started 171 regular-season games and has a record of 98-73. He is a veteran of 15 playoff games, winning 10 of them, including Super Bowl XLVII.
Flacco will be reunited with Jets general manager Joe Douglas, who was the scout that pushed the Ravens to draft him out of Delaware in 2008. Flacco went on to lead Baltimore to a Super Bowl win in 2012. He played 11 years for the Ravens before going to Denver last year.
The backup role to Darnold is extremely important to the success of the Jets’ franchise player. Darnold has missed six games in his first two years, and the Jets are a miserable 0-6 in those games. After missing three games with mononucleosis last season, Trevor Siemian replaced him but broke his ankle. Luke Falk then came in and started the next two (it was not good if you had to ask). Flacco should bring stability to the QB room and provide an excellent set of eyes and ears for Darnold.
