Ever since the moment Lamar Jackson was drafted by the Ravens, Joe Flacco's time in Baltimore was done. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora said as much on our draft show that very night. Flacco's contract isn't ideal for a starting quarterback, it's completely untenable for a backup.
The only question left for Flacco isn't whether he will be gone, but it's the method with which he will be gone. The Ravens could certainly cut him, giving a nice little golden parachute (not that he needs one) and the opportunity to sign with whatever team he wants on the open market.
However, Baltimore clearly would prefer to trade Flacco. That would give the Ravens salary cap relief for the rest of Flacco's deal and allow them to get something in return for the quarterback. Those things can get awkward, with the Ravens potentially taking the best deal and shipping Flacco to a place he might not be thrilled to land.
On the other hand, the Ravens might prefer cutting Flacco and designating him a post-June 1 cut, so they can spread the cap hit across multiple years.
But the team also wants to, according to a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, "treat Joe Flacco with class" and would consider helping him land in a spot that he prefers.
So what might that spot look like? Again, Flacco's a tough case because he has $26.5 million cap hit next year.
The Washington Redskins could make sense, because they're dealing with an injury to Alex Smith that could very well keep him out for next year. That broken leg issue is really TBD, but the bigger problem might be taking on multiple huge cap hits for elderly quarterbacks.
Maybe the Jacksonville Jaguars could make sense? They are moving on from Blake Bortles but they are also going to be very short on cap space heading into the offseason (if they have any at all). They could be a player if they're able to move Bortles in a salary dump, although one could argue that Flacco isn't that big of an upgrade if they can't fix the offensive line. They might need to go young at quarterback moving forward.
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The New York Giants would be an obvious landing spot if they weren't committed to Eli Manning. That's the Giants problem -- not sure Flacco would be substantially better behind that offensive line, although he would certainly have the best cast of offensive skill players around him he's ever had.
How about the Oakland Raiders, a team that is hurtling toward a top draft pick and may or may not be happy with Derek Carr. If Gruden decides he needs to change things up, it's entirely possible he makes a move and gets a different veteran quarterback while picking someone up in the draft.
Maybe the Miami Dolphins make sense. They have Ryan Tannehill, but if Adam Gase is run out of town after this season, Tannehill might not be back. Flacco could make sense if the Dolphins are able to procure the services of John Harbaugh in the coaching market. (Or maybe not, depending on how Flacco feels about Harbaugh?)
Good luck finding many more teams who fit for Flacco, assuming he wants to be a starter. The Ravens cutting him seems like a far more likely scenario.
