From New York to Philly to New York, Joe Flacco is very familiar with the Jersey Turnpike now.
A few days after Zach Wilson was sidelined with a knee injury, the Jets made a move to bring back Flacco, something that confused a lot of fans and analysts curious about the situation. As it turns out, they had every right to be curious.
Flacco had spent time on the 2020 Jets squad, backing up Sam Darnold and making a few spot starts when Darnold went down with injury. After an offseason of wondering if GM Joe Douglas was going to bring in a veteran passer, it took seven weeks (and an injury) to make that happen.
Here’s why the move to bring back Flacco was perplexing:
MORE: Why did the Jets draft Zach Wilson?
Why did the Jets trade for Joe Flacco?
The easy answer is to why the Jets traded for Joe Flacco is because Zach Wilson was injured and the Jets needed a QB2. There’s also the added benefit that Flacco, as a veteran, may be able to help Wilson out with the system New York is running.
As a starter with the Broncos in 2019, Flacco has some familiar with the Shanahan system, a variation of which the Jets are running in New York. In 2014, Gary Kubiak, known for running the Shanny system, was Flacco’s offensive coordinator in Baltimore.
Sounds simple and easy, right? Wrong. With the Jets, it’s never that simple.
Why the Joe Flacco trade was confusing
With Wilson injured, the Jets were rostering Mike White (QB2) with veteran passer Josh Johnson on the practice squad. Head coach Robert Saleh was asked about acquiring Flacco, and the answer was a bit confusing:
The main reason why the Flacco acquisition was a bit odd all revolves around timing: The trade was made during the week that Wilson was injured, but the Jets knew Flacco wouldn’t be able to practice with the team until Friday at the time of the trade.
Because of that, Flacco would be inactive for Sunday’s game vs. the Bengals, leading to White starting (and subsequently lighting up the NFL), with Johnson elevated from the practice squad as the backup.
To that end, with Wilson not being placed on the Injured Reserve list (which would have forced him to miss a minimum of three games in Weeks 8, 9 and 10), the current expectation is that Wilson may return in Week 10 vs. the Bills, and at the minimum, will likely practice that week.
That means, at most, at the time of the trade, Flacco may have had the opportunity to start, just a single game, the Week 9 “Thursday Night Football” matchup with the Colts.
As it turns out, White’s performance in the win over the Bengals earned him the start on Thursday night, with Flacco likely behind him on the depth chart now, and likely not getting the opportunity to start after all.
Saleh reiterated the Jets’ need to keep the quarterback room strong, and also said that the team
The Jets were crushed for their decision not to bring in a veteran quarterback prior to the start of the 2021 season, but reports indicated — and Saleh strongly suggested — Flacco decided to sign with the Eagles over the Jets, given that he felt a stronger opportunity to start.
“I can’t speak for Joe Flacco on that,” Saleh said regarding Flacco’s decision to sign with the Eagles. “Obviously, as a free agent, he has opportunities, and the decisions he makes are personal.”
Whatever the case may be, Flacco is once again a Jet, and those EZPass bills are piling up.
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