Joe Flacco has been benched.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh made it official today that Lamar Jackson will remain Baltimore’s starter, as he has been the last four games. The difference for this week’s game against the Buccaneers is that Flacco is healthy enough to play and will be active, but Jackson will start ahead of him anyway.
“Joe is fully healthy, ready to go, he’ll be a full participant in practice, he’ll be up for the game,” Harbaugh said. “The starting quarterback will be Lamar. Joe will be the No. 2 quarterback and Robert Griffin will be the backup to those two.”
That’s a major change and the beginning of the end for Flacco, who won a Super Bowl MVP award in Baltimore but has been mostly a disappointment since signing an enormous contract after that. Jackson hasn’t been great in his four starts, but the Ravens have gone 3-1 with Jackson at the helm, and with a playoff race ahead, they’re sticking with the first-round rookie.