As the baseball world waits for Bryce Harper to re-sign with Washington and Manny Machado to decide between the Yankees and the Phillies, one of the biggest names in football who'll be switching teams can begin plotting his next course. Despite Lamar Jackson's miserable performance for three quarters, Joe Flacco sat on the bench in a ski cap and Ravens parka as Baltimore's season came to an end on Sunday. The fact that he never entered the game, even if John Harbaugh insists he "considered" it at halftime, makes it pretty obvious that the Ravens have moved on. Which means Flacco soon will too.
And Flacco will have no shortage of suitors. It's not everyday that a proven winner who's been a Super Bowl MVP hits the open market. The last time it happened, Peyton Manning went to Denver, and all the Broncos did in four seasons with them was win a Super Bowl, go to another, and get a playoff bye every year. I'm not saying that's going to happen again. Joe Flacco's no Peyton Manning. But he'll be highly sought-after. With good reason. And, like Manning, Flacco will probably get to choose his destination.
There are some teams in need of a quarterback who'll likely pursue on in the draft. And some potential landing spots are also in the midst of a coaching search, which they'll obviously need to take care of first. Likewise, some teams may be hoping Flacco's willing to take a backup role. There's also the possibility, however unlikely, that he goes into training camp unsigned and lands somewhere when the starter suffers an injury, which obviously nobody hopes happens.
The way I see it, there are three teams that make the most sense for Flacco, and he'd immediately be inserted as the starter with any of them. Two are currently without a coach, though. But, assuming they hire one before the Super Bowl, Flacco's pending availability could solve a quarterback problem that's been a consistent issue for both of them.
I'm, of course, talking about Denver and Miami. The Broncos' last playoff game was Super Bowl 50, after which Peyton Manning retired. They've spent the last three seasons looking for his replacement. Trevor Siemian wasn't it. Neither was Brock Osweiler. Or Paxton Lynch. They thought they found the answer in Case Keenum. As it turns out, he wasn't it, either. So, they're still looking.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins have spent 20 years looking for another Dan Marino. With the exception of 2017 when he was injured, Ryan Tannehill has been Miami's starter since 2012. His career record is 42-46. The Dolphins have made the playoffs a grand total of once since then. When Matt Moore started a 30-12 loss to the Steelers in the wild card round. If it isn't obvious by now, they ain't beating Bradicheck with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback. It's time to move on.
So, if those are options 1 and 1A and they're both interested, which one is a better fit? Probably Denver. The Broncos have an elite defense. That hasn't changed in the three years they've been out of the playoffs. They just need a quarterback who's good enough to get the job done. Which is exactly what Joe Flacco is. Heck, he won a Super Bowl as a game manager for an elite defense. And his pedigree is far superior to any of the quarterbacks Denver has tried since Peyton exited stage right.
Denver is also a better team than Miami. Yes, the Broncos went just 11-21 over the past two seasons. But they've still got Von Miller and a bunch of other pieces from the Super Bowl winners of just four seasons ago. Plus, Denver's got John Elway. The Hall of Fame quarterback already lured one high-profile passer to Denver after he was cut loose by his former team. It's not unreasonable to think he'll make the same move for Flacco.
Miami's problems are far bigger than just New England. The Dolphins (like the rest of the AFC East) simply aren't that good. They need much more than a quarterback to be competitive, especially since the Patriots have given no indication of giving up their stranglehold on the division. Yes, Flacco would be an improvement over Tannehill. But he's not enough to put them over the top.
Or maybe that third team will end up winning the Flacco Sweepstakes. That third team is the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville is similar to Denver (and Baltimore) in a lot of ways. The Jaguars have an elite defense. It got them to the AFC Championship Game last season. What they don't have is the offense to go with it. Blake Bortles is a completely serviceable NFL quarterback. But he's not an NFL starter. Joe Flacco is.
Of course, there's also the possibility that Flacco is willing to accept a backup job for whatever reason. Which opens up a whole new group of teams. Maybe a team like Arizona or the Jets that's looking for a veteran to mentor their young starter. Maybe a team like the Rams that want a proven backup just in case something happens. Or maybe Flacco takes a backup job simply for the chance to win another ring.
That seems unlikely, but it isn't completely out of the question. Although, I think it'll be down to a choice between Denver and Miami. And the option that makes the most sense is the Denver Broncos. Expect to see Joe Flacco wearing orange next season.
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