New Jets quarterback Joe Flacco has been medically cleared to start throwing again, according to Manish Mehta of the Daily News (on Twitter). 
The team also believes that the veteran will be on course for contact by early September. In the meantime, he’ll be able to toss the ball and prepare for the 2020 season.
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The Jets inked Flacco to a one-year deal on Friday, bringing him in as a veteran backstop to starter Sam Darnold. Flacco will be at the ready in case Darnold misses more time and he also figures to serve as a mentor to the soon-t0-be 23-year-old. Earlier in his career, Darnold had a similar dynamic with Josh McCown.
The Jets’ first choice for the QB2 role was Andy Dalton, but the Cowboys beat them to the punch. After that, Flacco stood as the most attractive option. Or, at least, the most attractive and realistic option. Cam Newton is still waiting for the right opportunity and he would have cost significantly more than Flacco. The ex-Broncos QB and former Ravens star signed on for just $1.5MM, though performance bonuses could take him up to $4.5MM. Outside of those notables, May’s free agent QB market included the likes of Blake Bortles, Drew Stanton, 2019 Jet Trevor Siemian, and Matt Moore, who was not high on their list despite his relationship with head coach Adam Gase.
With Flacco in the fold, the Jets will have some decisions to make in the QB room. Currently, they have David Fales, fourth-round pick James Morgan, and former Cowboys Day 3 pick Mike White on the roster.
Jets’ Joe Flacco cleared to start throwing [up]
Belichick was interested in Blake Bortles once before. Curious if he’ll take a chance on Bortles this time around.
Oh god you got to be desperate to sign that guy
that’s a very random pic to use for this story
Well, Joe did have a pretty random season last year so….
It’s the only good view of Flacco – that of him driving away.
I’m not sure if White is eligible to be put on the practice squad. I’m pretty certain Fales is not. Morgan will definitely be QB3. If Flacco is just going to be cleared for contact in September, either White or “Epic” Fales will be the backup to start the season. I know they signed Fales for about $900K with a $100K guaranteed.
Hi Zach,
Flacco will be at the ready in case Darnold misses more time and he also figures to serve as a mentor to the “soon-t0-be 23-year-old”,
Can you fix the last sentence/word between soon & be?
“Elite” quarterbacks are closer than they appear
Flacco will stand on the sideline after being pulled and look like he could care less. Giving up in the middle of games is a speciality. The guy is done
Yea as a Ravens fan it was frustrating to see this guy stand on the side line with absolutely no emotion. Like he just didn’t give a crap. He did some good stuff with us, but I’m definitely glad he is gone
I mean Flacco is bad, but he can beat Darnold for the starting, because he’s even worse
Darnold is both younger and posted similar stats in an inferior offense. No way Flacco starts before him; not in a million years
It always comes down to who can produce results. Nobody expected Tannehill to out perform Mariota but Mariota is now a backup guy with another team. The NFL is always a “what have you done for us lately?” league.
What has Flacco done recently to prove he’s capable of leading a team to victory? He went 2-6 with an arguably stronger supporting cast and is fresh off of surgery. You also don’t give up on a top-3 pick after 2 years unless they exert JaMarcus Russell levels of incompetence
Darnold is as good as Ryan leaf was I mean where’s that guy! Oh yeah in jail lmao
I really hope you’re just trolling and not actually this illogical
Darnold is the guy on the hot seat not Flacco, so he is the one who has to deliver the goods or give up his spot on the depth chart.
I get what you’re saying, but Darnold hasn’t received a fair chance to deliver said goods. He’s been stuck behind a bottom-five offensive line with an inconsistent deep threat and average slot receiver in Robby Anderson and Jamison Crowder as his only viable wideouts. Furthermore, he went 7-5 once recovering from mono. Mariota had been given ample opportunity to prove himself and had just a 2-4 record through six games prior to being benched. If Flacco has a Tannehill-esque season and leads the Jets to the AFC championship, I’ll willingly eat my words. However, I’m reasonably skeptical
i expected Tannehill to be good once he left Gase or Gase left the dolphins … but i admit i didnt expect him to do as well as he did.
I don’t think Tannehill was ever really that bad. He was just expected to carry a mediocre team and his flaws got exposed as a result. In Tennessee, his role got reduced and he benefited from more suitable game-manager duties
I get what you were going for, but this actually looks like Flacco is grinning as he’s about to run over a bronco since they’re in front of him