After winning the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award as a member of the Cleveland Browns last season, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco wasn't sure what this offseason would bring. But after signing a one-year deal with the Colts in free agency, he's eager for the opportunity to continue his career in Indianapolis.
"But even this offseason, I wasn't really sure how it was going to go," Flacco said. "It wasn't like I played a ton of games last year or anything like that, but definitely grateful for Indy to reach out and have this as an opportunity."
A big part of Flacco's role in Indianapolis will be mentoring starting second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson. Luckily, it's a role that Flacco has become familiar with over the back end of his career.
"Listen, I've kind of been in this role for a handful of years now," Flacco said. "Obviously, last year was a little bit different cause I wasn't anywhere, I was able to come in and play pretty quickly.
"But yeah, it's just about being in the room with him and a lot of conversations naturally come up when you spend so much time together in a row," he added. "It's just kind of I think being able to bring the experience and being able to help him simplify things and go out there and play fast and use his skillset the way he wants to."
Richardson was limited to just four games as a rookie after undergoing shoulder surgery, so there's probably still plenty of tricks of the trade that he can learn from Flacco. Obviously, Indianapolis' hope is that Richardson won't have to miss major time again during his sophomore season. But if he does, at least the team has a reliable, experienced backup in place with Flacco.