With Lamar Jackson in the fold, Joe Flacco has replaced Jay Cutler as the least enthusiastic quarterback at wide receiver. When the Ravens insert Jackson into the game, Flacco splits out wide, where he proceeds to stand there and watch the play unfold rather than participate in it.
It's enthralling.
Flacco's performance at receiver hasn't been criticized the way Cutler's was a year ago, but he is catching flak from his wife.
"My wife gave me crap the one day, told me I need to look more interested out there," Flacco said Wednesday, per ESPN's Jamison Hensley. "But I'm just trying to stay out of it. I'm not comfortable out there. I don't need to get too creative."
"You can see me. I'm out there just standing," Flacco also said. "I really just try to stay out of the way of everything. That's what I'm told to do. That's what I'm doing."
He's right, of course. There's no point in Flacco trying to help by running upfield and blocking. The upside is hardly worth it and the downside is a season-altering injury.
To this point, the plays that have split Flacco out wide have seen moderate success. So far this season, Jackson has carried the ball 16 times for 72 yards (4.5 yards per carry) and he's gone 1 of 5 for 24 yards through the air. It remains to be seen if taking the offense out of the flow of the game by subbing in Jackson will be worth it, but it's still too early to jump to conclusions either way.
Of course, all of this is might just be a way for the Ravens to set up a perfectly timed trick play. Over the summer, Ravens coach John Harbaugh acknowledged that putting two quarterbacks on the field could create options for their offense. What if the Ravens finally get their revenge on the Patriots, who trick-played them to death in that January 2015 playoff game, by throwing a touchdown bomb to Flacco in this season's playoffs?
Unfortunately, Ravens running back Alex Collins already blew their cover, hypothesizing that Flacco could eventually be used as a target.
"He's just luring defenses to sleep," Collins said. "He said he was afraid earlier, but he might be catching some passes if they're not paying attention to him. That's a good thing. Let him keep tricking them over there."
Consider defenses already asleep:
So what does Flacco think about the idea of the Ravens using him as a pass catcher?
"I sure hope not," he said.
