Quarterback Joe Flacco, last season’s league Comeback Player of the Year while leading the Cleveland Browns into the postseason, has reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts.
Flacco, who turned 39 years old in January, will serve as the backup and a mentor to Indianapolis’ Anthony Richardson, according to the report by ESPN. Richardson missed 13 games in his rookie season due to injuries. The deal could earn Flacco as much as $8.7 million.
The 2013 Super Bowl MVP while with the champion Baltimore Ravens, Flacco was out of the league last season until the Browns, amid a rash of injuries to their quarterbacks, signed him to the practice squad on Nov. 20.
Flacco ended the season as Cleveland’s starter, and the Browns won four of his five regular-season starts, the last four in succession. He threw for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns with eight interceptions in those five games, and completed just over 60 percent of his pass attempts.
The Browns, the runners-up in the AFC North, lost 45-14 to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Flacco threw for 307 yards and a touchdown, but he was intercepted twice.
The Colts (9-8) missed the postseason for the third straight season, finishing one game behind the Texans in the AFC South.
In 16 NFL seasons, Flacco has thrown for 43,936 yards, 18th on the all-time list, and 245 touchdowns, with 155 interceptions.
–Field Level Media