The Baltimore Sun is reporting that rookie Joe Flacco will start for the Ravens this Sunday in their season opener.
Medical issues to the Ravens’ other quarterbacks — Troy Smith (tonsil infection) and Kyle Boller (shoulder) — vaulted Flacco from last in the quarterback race to the uncontested winner.
“If anyone wrote this in a movie script, no one would believe it,” John Harbaugh said. “The thing that is kind of exciting is that you couldn’t envision this scenario. It wasn’t one that we planned.”
That forced the Ravens to scrap any plans of bringing their first-round pick along slowly. When the Ravens play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Flacco will join Atlanta’s Matt Ryan as the NFL’s only rookie starting quarterbacks to open this season.
“This is what I wanted all along,” Flacco said. “Things happen funny. I’ve gotten my opportunity, and now it’s up to me to go out there and play.”
Just like Matt Ryan’s situation in Atlanta, the Ravens know this is a risk. Rookie quarterbacks who start in the NFL don’t have a high success rate, but the team will see right away what the young man can and cannot handle.
It’ll be interesting to see how both Flacco and Ryan do in their respective openers.
