Does Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco Deserve A New Contract?
By Josh Sanchez
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is under contract through the 2012 NFL season. At the conclusion of the Ravens run this season, Flacco will just have one year left on his deal. Of course, Flacco will be looking to get a new contract, but Baltimore will likely be focused on re-signing running back Ray Rice so Flacco will have to wait.
NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora wrote today, “According to sources close to him, the quarterback also knows that any real leverage in negotiations only will be gained during the playoffs after a season in which he failed to reach many of his 2010 marks. The likelihood of Flacco receiving a new contract rises if he makes strides during this postseason, and it could create more pressure on the organization to get a deal done. If he doesn’t perform well, it will be much more likely that he must play out the duration of his rookie deal.”
While Flacco would like a new deal, does he really deserve one?
What has Flacco done to deserve more than $20 million — which would likely be the guaranteed money in his new deal? Truthfully, Flacco hasn’t done a thing to trigger a pay raise. In fact, he has performed like a mediocre quarterback that could easily be replaced.
This season, Flacco completed only 57% of his passes. While that is greater than the likes of Tim Tebow, it is still dreadful for an effective NFL starter.
Flacco has never taken the next step in his game and you would have to think the Ravens would rather put the ball in Ray Rice’s hands than Flacco’s. That is exactly why Rice will get the Ravens’ attention when it comes to a new deal, regardless of what Flacco may want.
It is nice that the signal-caller wants to talk about a new contract before it gets into crunch time, but he has to come to the realization that he will wait. Flacco doesn’t deserve the new deal and the Ravens know that. They will be in no rush to re-up his contract.
Does Flacco deserve a new deal? I say no. What say you, Spin Zone nation?
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