The Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Joe Flacco's agent, Joe Linta, met on Friday to begin serious contract talks, according to ESPN. There's been plenty of reports suggesting that the two sides have talked on the phone off and on, but these are the first real negotiations since August, says ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Joe Flacco’s agent meets with Ravens Friday
The Baltimore Ravens and Joe Flacco’s agent reportedly met for serious contract negotiations in Indianapolis on Friday.
USA TODAY Sports
To further cement that the two sides did in fact meet, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says that he saw Linta and Ravens vice president of football administration Pat Moriarty eating at an Indianapolis restaurant on Friday night.
It’s very likely we won’t hear anything from these talks just yet, as it sounds like the two sides will be in negotiations for a number of days. The deadline for them to get a deal done is March 4, as that is the last day for the Ravens to apply the franchise tag.
By all accounts, the Ravens would use the tag on Flacco if they cannot reach a deal on a new contract. They’d have to use the tag by March 4, otherwise Flacco would stand a chance of hitting the open market when free agency opens on March 12.
Flacco's agent thinks that he should be the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, based on the fact that Flacco just led his team to victory in Super Bowl 47. The Ravens will do everything in their power to bring Flacco back on a long-term deal in 2013, but it's unlikely they'll be willing to make him that top-paid quarterback.
His stats don’t seem to add up with the billing, though. He’s completed less than 60 percent of his passes over the past two seasons, and his touchdown numbers have dropped while his interception numbers have remained the same.
Still, he’s a winning quarterback and hasn’t missed a game in his entire NFL career. It will be very interesting to see where his contract number ends up, provided the Ravens can get him inked to a deal.
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