Joe Flacco Undergoes Neck Surgery

Joe Flacco‘s Broncos season ended early because of a neck injury, and the free agent quarterback underwent a procedure recently. The veteran quarterback had neck surgery in early April, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio tweets.

The rehab from what NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero described as a 45-minute operation will sideline Flacco until late August or potentially mid-September (Twitter link). This could certainly delay Flacco’s opportunity to catch on with another team for a while.

The Broncos released Flacco in mid-March and plan to go with Drew Lock as their 2020 starter. Denver traded a fourth-round pick for the longtime Baltimore passer last year but saw Flacco’s season end after eight games. He only played in nine with the Ravens in 2018 but was healthy enough to return later that year.

While the 35-year-old quarterback could return to the backup radar at some point this offseason, this figures to keep him parked in free agency for the time being. Although the NFL released a statement indicating facilities could reopen during the offseason, the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disproportionately affects injured players. Teams being unable to have their medical personnel examine players has kept Cam Newton on the market as well. Flacco is now squarely in this boat.

View Comments (12)