Jets QB Joe Flacco (Neck) Confirms He Won’t Be Ready For Week 1

New Jets QB Joe Flacco said during an interview with SiriusXM NFL radio that he won’t be ready for the start of the regular season after undergoing offseason neck surgery. 

“I can’t speak to exactly when I’m going to be ready, but it will not be day one,” Flacco said, via ESPN.com. “Obviously, we’ll get with the doctors and I have another checkup come August, so we’ll see where that goes.”

The Jets are aware of Flacco’s timeline and expect him to serve as Sam Darnold‘s backup for most of the season. 

“First and foremost, I want to help the team in any way possible and also be a guy Sam can lean on, that he can learn from,” Flacco said. “I would say those are the two most important things: Help out the guys on the team and help out Sam to do all they can.

“For me, personally, I want to play football. I’ve had some things happen, got injured and had to have surgery. I have to find my way back into the league. I want to play for years to come. I think these guys have given me a great opportunity and hope I can make the most of my situation and make the most of whatever my role ends up being.”

Flacco, 35, is a former first-round pick of the Ravens back in 2008. The Broncos agreed to trade a 2019 fourth-round pick to the Ravens for Flacco last year. 

Flacco is currently in the fourth year of a six-year, $125 million contract that contained $44 million guaranteed and set to make base salaries of $20.25 million (2020) and $24.25 million (2021) over the remainder of the contract.

Denver released Flacco with a failed physical designation this offseason and he just recently signed a one-year contract worth $1.5 million worth up to $4.5 million with the Jets. 

In 2019, Flacco has appeared in eight games and completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 1,822 yards to go along with six touchdowns and five interceptions for the Ravens. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 21 quarterback out of 34 qualifying players.