The NFL season still is over a month away, but the Baltimore Ravens could already be facing a quarterback dilemma.
Joe Flacco reportedly will miss three to six weeks of training camp, per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, with a back injury he sustained while lifting weights. If he misses the full amount of time, Flacco would be in line to return the first week of September, dangerously close to Week 1 of the NFL season.
Ravens backup quarterback Ryan Mallett will take first-team reps in camp with Flacco out, but the only other signal-caller on Baltimore’s roster is Dustin Vaughn. That fact led Baltimore Sun Ravens beat writer Jeff Zrebiec to wonder if the team might look to add Colin Kaepernick if they think Flacco will be out for a while.
Kaepernick or not, the Ravens definitely will need someone else at QB if Flacco’s recovery is a long one. Mallett has played just 19 games, eight of which were starts, over seven seasons in the NFL. The 29-year-old is 3-5 as a starter and has a career quarterback rating of 64.9.
Flacco signed a three-year, $66.4 million contract extension before last season, and his $24.55 million salary-cap hit is the highest in the NFL for 2017.
Thumbnail photo via Patrick McDermott/USA TODAY Sports Images
