Joe Flacco Rumors: Ravens Expected to Trade, Release QB in Offseason

The Baltimore Ravens are reportedly set to trade or release Joe Flacco this offseason.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the Ravens will explore trading Flacco but will release him if they're unable to find a taker.

Flacco, 33, is due an $18.5 million base salary for 2019. The Ravens would save at least $10 million on their cap by moving on.

Lamar Jackson has started the Ravens' last seven games, leading them to a 6-1 record and an AFC North crown. Baltimore will host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in an AFC Wild Card Round matchup.

"I haven't really thought too much about it, to be honest with you. It is what it is," Flacco told reporters when asked if this is his last game in Baltimore. "We're a No. 4 seed. There's always a possibility that in the final round before the Super Bowl you can come back here. So you never know."

Flacco has been the team's primary starter since being taken in the 2008 first round. He's started 163 of a possible 176 games; this is the first time in his career he has been a backup.

While never among the NFL's elite, Flacco led the Ravens to six playoff appearances and won the Super Bowl XLVII MVP. His spectacular playoff run in 2013 earned him a massive new contract and likely extended the lease on his life in Baltimore by three or four years.

A team will sign Flacco and allow him to compete for its starting job if he hits free agency. There is a massive chasm between Flacco's competence and the bottom of the NFL starting quarterback barrel. A team like Washington could bring Flacco in as insurance in case Alex Smith's leg injury never heals and keep Flacco in the same geographic area.

The Jacksonville Jaguars need literally anyone not named Blake Bortles under center, though Flacco is a little bit of an OG Bortles. 

The trade market is a little shakier. Finding a team willing to give up any draft pick compensation for the right to pay Flacco $18.5 million seems unlikely.