Veteran Joe Flacco is ready to lead the Jets vs. Ravens though Zach Wilson heals up

Some persons were astonished when Jets mentor Robert Saleh declared that Joe Flacco would get started in the year opener from the Baltimore Ravens.

Flacco was not one particular of them, as he prepped himself for the second because Zach Wilson endured a knee injury all through the preseason.

“Mentally, I’ve been getting ready like I was going to play the entire time in any case, so it’s not truly that significant of a offer,” Flacco said.

Not only will Flacco get started from the Ravens on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, but he will also start out the next two video games for the Jets — at the Cleveland Browns and residence versus the Cincinnati Bengals.

“He’s been preparing. He’s freaking amazing, and I’m definitely excited for him and his prospect,” Saleh reported. “Even at 37, I know that it’s in the back again of his head, he’s finding the prospect to play Baltimore and all these distinct issues and even at 37, he’s received to continue to keep the most important matter, the principal point, and just do his best and belief his finest is excellent sufficient and I feel we are all excited for Joe and his prospect and thrilled for Sunday.”

Wilson experienced a meniscus tear and bone bruise on a noncontact play in the course of the very first quarter of the Jets’ preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 12. 4 times immediately after the harm, Wilson underwent a technique described as a “trim” to the meniscus.

Sources explained Wilson would only be out two to 4 months, but the workforce under no circumstances publicly announced a timetable. On Monday, Saleh said Wilson could possibly start off the time opener, but he applied some gamesmanship techniques to check out and throw the Ravens off.

Sunday will mark Flacco’s sixth commence due to the fact coming to the Jets two seasons back. In 2020, he started off 4 video games right after then beginning quarterback Sam Darnold was recovering from a shoulder injury. Then Flacco commenced one activity from the Dolphins last period just after Wilson experienced a sprained PCL in his right knee.

“I’m getting a terrific time in this article,” Flacco reported. “I think at any time you are 15 a long time in the league, you are likely to have what feels like a young team close to you, but I’m having a ton of pleasurable with them and it does assistance that I have been listed here for a number of years, and I have that rapport with a bunch of fellas on the group and you can definitely tell the variance involving the locker space then and now.

“I’ll proceed to say it, I feel we have some momentum behind us, but we nevertheless have not completed it on Sunday on a consistent foundation, so I feel till we do that, you generally need to establish it to oneself and that locker home. We’re in a fantastic location, but we need to go out there and demonstrate it to ourselves and get off to a excellent commence.”

Sunday will also mark the to start with time Flacco will facial area the workforce who drafted him with the No. 18 choose in the 2008 NFL Draft. Flacco performed with the Ravens for 11 seasons, which involved winning Super Bowl XLVII and staying named the game’s MVP.

Nonetheless, in 2018, the Ravens traded back again into the initially round to draft Lamar Jackson, who was pegged to be the long term of the franchise. Next a 4-5 get started that period, Ravens mentor John Harbaugh benched Flacco and commenced Jackson and the staff finished 10-6 and won the AFC North.

That following offseason, the Ravens traded Flacco to the Denver Broncos before discovering his way to the Jets in 2020. While he has downplayed facing his former staff, his previous mentor understands the sort of participant Flacco is and what he did for the metropolis of Baltimore.

“Joe was our dude for numerous yrs,” Harbaugh mentioned. “He received 10 playoff game titles in the initially 5 several years.”

“He sort of remodeled us in so many ways in conditions of the form of team we ended up. We have been throwing the ball all around a small bit and acquiring a whole lot of achievement with that. Which is sort of immeasurable.”

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