Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who years before his birth was immortalized by the character of Bert on Sesame Street, met with the media on Monday for a pre-training camp Q&A.
And Flacco wasn’t exactly thrilled with questions regarding the status of Derrick Mason, the team’s No. 1 receiver. For now, Mason is unofficially retired.
“You guys can’t leave that alone,” Flacco said of the most pressing topic surrounding the franchise, in comments forwarded to us by Aaron Wilson. “That’s been over for a couple of
weeks. I think everybody was surprised as you probably were. I think we
all were. I talked to Derrick about a week ago and it sounds like he’s
doing good. We’re going to go out to practice tomorrow and get it
started.”
But Flacco also hinted that the situation isn’t as “over” as he suggested.
“He didn’t really sound too sure of himself, but I told him whatever
decision he makes is his decision,” Flacco said. “I just let him know how much we want
him and how much he means to the team and stuff like that. In no way
did I try to persuade him in any way. I just wanted to make sure he
understood how much we appreciate having him around. I don’t really
know. I think he’ll probably talk to the coaches and whatever decision
he makes, he makes.”
Sheesh. Are we talking about Derrick Mason or Brett Favre?
Actually, Mason might as well be Favre in his prime, as far as the Ravens are concerned. Without him, they’ve got not much in the receiving corps. As Peter King of SI.com points out in his back-from-vacation MMQB column, Mason’s absence leaves the Ravens with only one wideout who caught more than 15 passes last season — Mark Clayton (41).
So the delicate back-and-forth continues between the Ravens and Mason. But if the team really wants Mason to change his mind, they’ll sweeten his contract.
Until then, Flacco will try to force a smile onto a mouth that, given the circumstances, might be even flatter than Bert’s.
“I don’t really worry about stuff like that,” Flacco said. “We’re going to try our
best. As long as we do that, we’ll be good.”
That sounds a lot like the Lions’ motto from 2008.