Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco is currently a free agent and some members of the media are claiming he should be the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. While I think Baltimore would be wise to hang on to Flacco, especially given his great run in the playoffs this past season, I don't think the guy should be one of the top-paid quarterbacks in the league. Throughout his career to this point, Flacco has been fairly average as far as completion percentage goes and a little above average as far as quarterback rating is concerned. He has shown himself to be a capable starter, but has been aided a great deal by the talent around him: Tailback Ray Rice, fullback Vonta Leach, receivers Anquan Boldin, Jacoby Jones, and Torrey Smith, along with a top-notch defense. He's also been blessed with having a great coach in John Harbaugh. Following his great run through the playoffs and earning the Super Bowl MVP honor, Flacco deserves to receive a nice contract-extension in Baltimore. However, unlike Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and the like, I have to question the ultimate long-term success of Joe Flacco. The Ravens will be without team leader Ray Lewis in the coming years, and may be without veteran wideout Anquan Boldin as well. The question will be, will Flacco be the elite quarterback we saw in the playoffs, when he posted a QBR of 83.6, the fairly average quarterback he was during the regular season when posted a 46.8 QBR, or somewhere in between? His great post-season is the reason Baltimore is in an awkward spot right now. They likely feel pressured to pay him as one of the league's top quarterbacks due to that 83.6 QBR he displayed en route to a Super Bowl ring. However, chances are his future QBR numbers will be between the 46.8 and 83.6 he showcased during the regular and post-seasons this year, and likely closer to the former than the latter.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11252/joe-flacco
http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11252/joe-flacco
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