INDIANAPOLIS – Let’s get one thing straight: Joe Flacco doesn’t need this.
But he still wants it. Badly.
Flacco doesn’t need to extend an NFL career that’s been decorated and lucrative.
After signing a one-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts Friday worth a maximum of $8.7 million, he’s heading into a 16th season. He’s with his fifth team and has a 113-88 overall record as a starter.
He’s a world champion and was MVP of Super Bowl XLVII when his Baltimore Ravens held off the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.
He’s a Comeback Player of the Year after signing late last season with Cleveland and helping carry them into the postseason.
He’s passed for 43,936 yards and 245 touchdowns. Only Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford have thrown for more yards among active quarterbacks.
He’s earned $175.9 million since being selected by the Ravens with the 18th overall pick in 2008.
He’s a family man. He and wife Dana have five children.
“Having five kids at home also kind of pushes me in the direction of coming back here,’’ Flacco said Friday afternoon with a sheepish smile.
Again, this is an instance of want overriding need.
What keeps pulling you back? You could be doing something – anything – else.
“I don’t know what else that would be,’’ Flacco said with a laugh. “When you have something that you love to do and you enjoy putting in the work . . . I don’t know too many people that would give that all up to try and go do something else or figure out what else that might be.
“I have no idea what else that would be. One day, I’ll figure that out.’’
The longer Flacco talked, the more it became apparent what makes this 39-year old tick. He’ll step into a locker room that features a slew of 20-something teammates – Jaylon Jones is 21 while Josh Downs, Nick Cross and Blake Freeland are 22 – and he’s a year older than head coach Shane Steichen.
“It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I realized, ‘Man, I’m actually older than these guys now,’’’ he said. “It didn’t dawn on me right away, but all of a sudden it did. It’s like, ‘Holy, they’re looking at me because they’re wondering what I’m still doing here and how am I this old?’’’
He’s still here – in Indy – because the competitive juices surge through his veins. Football is engrained in his DNA.
“This game just means a ton,’’ Flacco said. “Every time that you take that practice field, you have a certain feeling. Every time that you go out there and play a game, you have a certain feeling that you get.
“You just want to go play. It never changes. I don’t care what you’ve accomplished or what you haven’t, you want to go out there and you want to do your best and you want to be able to look at yourself in the mirror at night and know that you did everything that you could to go out there and do the best you can.
“The fire still burns to go out there and be better than you were the day before, the year before or whatever it may be.’’
Flacco admitted he was a bit surprised when the Browns didn’t re-sign him. He led them to a 4-1 record and an AFC wild-card berth after joining the QB-needy team in late November.
“Yeah, probably a little bit, not a ton,’’ he said. “I’ve been around obviously long enough to know that you probably shouldn’t expect something to happen.’’
Role with the Colts
Flacco has started 201 games, including the playoffs. He started 163 of a possible 167 games in his first 11 seasons before the Ravens pivoted to first-round pick Lamar Jackson midway through 2018.
But there will be no quarterback controversy at his latest stop. The Colts have attached their future to Anthony Richardson.
First and foremost, Flacco represents an insurance policy in case the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft suffers an injury. It’s impossible to ignore Richardson’s rookie season being limited to four starts by a concussion and surgery on his right shoulder, and how Gardner Minshew II stepped in and helped salvage the season.
“It’s just about being in the room with him,’’ Flacco said of Richardson. “A lot of conversations naturally come up when you spend so much time together in a room.
“It’s just kind of I think being able to bring the experience and being able to help him simplify things and go out there and play fast and use his skillset the way he wants to.’’
Flacco paused briefly and considered the proper response when asked whether he should be seen as a mentor for Richardson. He was quoted in the past saying he didn’t believe his role was to mentor a young quarterback.
“Well, it’s just one of those questions that you guys are going to nail me for either way,’’ he said. “It’s like, I really don’t believe that’s the job of a backup quarterback. I think that happens naturally as you become part of the team.
“I think I’ve proven to be . . . a good teammate and I think that’s most important. It’s not like you’re going to sit there and hold people’s hands and do different types of things. You have relationships with people just like you do every single team you’re on.’’
Flacco felt the need to elaborate further.
“Listen, I’ve gotten in trouble in the past,’’ he said. “That’s why this is such a touchy subject because you can write whatever you want about it. If you want to roast me, you can say, ‘Oh, Joe doesn’t want to be a mentor.’ And if you don’t want to, then you can kind of put it in a different context.
“I think every quarterback in this league sees themselves as somebody that wants to be on the field and wants to play. I think that’s probably the best mindset to go in there and help somebody with because if I wasn’t interested in that in some way, then how engaged would I be in meetings? How much would I be able to help him?
“I think I can bring a lot of (experience) to the meeting room for sure. The end goal is to win a lot of football games around here and I want to be a part of that in any way I can.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.