The Ravens already announced Joe Flacco wouldn’t play in the preseason, but they stated a week ago that they expect their starting quarterback to return to practice sometime in the next few weeks.
That won’t happen in the next week, according to coach John Harbaugh.
“We have a time frame on that,” Harbaugh said, via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. “I think we talked about that; we announced that already. I don’t think that timeframe is this week yet. We’re going to stick with the plan on that. I think it’s a pretty straight forward date that the doctors and back specialists gave us, so we’re going to stick to that.”
Initial reports on July 26 said Flacco would miss 3-6 weeks due to a disc issue in his back.
The team continues with the expectation he will play in the Sept. 10 season opener against the Bengals. If he doesn’t practice in the next week, Flacco will have no more than two weeks of practice time in preparation.
In two preseason starts in Flacco’s place, Ryan Mallett has completed 22 of 40 passes for 171 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and a 53.2 passer rating.