Flacco says he won't be annoyed by questions about Jackson 'because I think we’re going to win'

The Ravens' starting quarterback has been struggling for the last few years and his team now has his successor on the roster

For years now, Joe Flacco has been in the bottom half of the league's starting quarterbacks (at best). Since the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2012, Flacco has compiled a 38-36 record as a starter while completing 63 percent of his passes at just 6.5 yards per attempt, while throwing for 98 touchdowns against 74 interceptions. During that five-year span, Flacco ranks 40th in yards per attempt among the 46 players who have thrown at least 500 passes, as well as 37th in touchdown rate, 32nd in interception rate, and 36th in passer rating. 

The main reason Flacco still has his job as the starting quarterback of the Ravens is his outsized contract, which was extended a couple years ago to give Baltimore more breathing room under the cap. He's yet to be benched for performance reasons, but his performance has also not been up to par for a starter -- let alone one who draws as significant a salary as Flacco does. 

But the end of his tenure may be near, because the Ravens finally drafted his obvious successor by trading to pick No. 32 to land former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson. Jackson has apparently been wildly impressive during the offseason program to the point where the Ravens are figuring out ways to get him on the field even while Flacco remains the primary option. 

Flacco, for his part, is not worried about potentially losing his job -- or the questions that would come from people debating whether Jackson should ascend to the QB1 role. 

Joe Flacco asked if he thinks he will get sick of having to answer Lamar Jackson questions every week: "No. I don't, because I think we're going to win and we're not going to hear about it."

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) July 20, 2018

The Ravens have not done that much winning over the last several years, going 8-8, 10-6, 5-11, 8-8, and 9-7 since that Super Bowl victory. They have essentially been the very definition of a league average team, and that's despite having one of the league's best defenses during that time. 

If the Ravens want to take a step forward, their offense is the unit that needs to step up, and it just seems unlikely that it'll happen with Flacco at the helm. He's 33 years old, so at this point, he is what he is. Whether that means they should simply turn the job over to Jackson is another question, but there will almost surely be questions about it at some point during this season.