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Back in 2013, Joe Flacco was the toast of Baltimore, leading the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory and signing one of the biggest contracts in NFL history.
Flacco probably figured he’d be the Ravens’ franchise quarterback for the next 10 years, but his play slipped and the Ravens drafted Lamar Jackson in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and well, it seems Joe wasn’t too thrilled about it.
Robert Griffin III, who was the third string quarterback on the team, shared on on his podcast, “RG3 and The Ones,” that Flacco wasn’t exactly eager to mentor the rookie. Griffin described Flacco as a “lead by example” type of guy. Translation: he wasn’t passing on his QB wisdom to Lamar during meetings and after practices.
In 2018, my job was to help Rookie Lamar Jackson because everyone knew Joe Flacco wouldn't. He was a pro about it, but would only lead by example and we all understood why.
Subscribe and watch the FULL STORY here 📺 https://t.co/6vmsnR6Q8v pic.twitter.com/0Yijlu2Jzu
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 26, 2023
Following April’s Draft, in May, Lamar was asked by media if Joe Flacco reached out to welcome him to the team. Lamar said he hasn’t.
In May 2018, Flacco’s reaction to Lamar joining the squad was a classic non-answer: “When you pick a quarterback or anybody in the first round, it means something. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know exactly what it is. But that’s not my job to worry about what it is. My job is to keep my approach exactly what it’s been for the last 10 years and help our team go win football games.”
So, it sounds like Joe was in his own lane, and that’s where RGIII had to step in. He took on the role of helping Lamar develop, and Lamar took a massive step forward the following year.
Fast forward to 2019, after Flacco left the Ravens and was traded to the Denver Broncos. At the time, the team drafted young quarterback Drew Lock in the 2nd round of the Draft. Joe Flacco said at the time that it wasn’t his job to mentor Lock.
That year, Lamar turned into an MVP quarterback, and went on to throw for 36 touchdowns, rushing for 7 more, racking up 1,206 rushing yards, 3,127 passing yards, and tossing just 6 interceptions.
Lamar proved he belongs in the spotlight and hasn’t looked back since.