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          NFL Nation

          Joe Flacco turns 33, cracking NFL's top 10 of oldest starting quarterbacks

          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterJan 16, 2018, 12:01 PM
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              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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          OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco turned 33 on Tuesday, which puts him in an elite age bracket in the NFL.

          Flacco is expected to move into the top 10 of oldest starting quarterbacks this season. The retirement of Carson Palmer, the potential second retirement for Jay Cutler and the uncertainty of Josh McCown's future could mean only seven returning starting quarterbacks will be older than Flacco in 2018.

          The oldest passer -- Tom Brady (40) -- will play in Sunday's AFC Championship Game. Three other aging quarterbacks -- Drew Brees (39), Ben Roethlisberger (35) and Alex Smith (33) -- each made the postseason.

          The other quarterbacks older than Flacco are Eli Manning (37), Philip Rivers (36) and Aaron Rodgers (34).

          Flacco has to prove he can be productive at this age. Before he turned 30, Flacco won 10 playoff games and posted a 72-40 (.643) record in the regular season. Since turning 30, he has yet to play in a postseason game and totaled a 20-22 (.476) mark in the regular season.

          The Ravens have begun thinking about the future with Flacco's increasing age.

          "When you have a veteran quarterback at this stage, that is the time you are always looking for a young backup," coach John Harbaugh said at his season-ending news conference. "I do not think that jeopardizes Joe at all. He is our guy, and I am excited about our chances next year having a great season, and Joe is, too. If we draft a quarterback, if it turns out to be the thing we do, it is only going to make our team stronger."

          Injuries have also hit Flacco in his 30s. His streak of 122 straight starts -- the sixth-longest in NFL history -- ended in November 2015, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Last season, Flacco missed all of training camp and the preseason because of a lower back injury.

          "It should be a full healthy offseason," Flacco said. "I'm definitely going to need a little bit of rest. But I don't foresee anything crazy happening."

          Many of the aging quarterbacks haven't suffered major drop-offs in performance. Seven of the 13 highest-rated passers were 34 or older, including the top three: Smith, Brees and Brady.

          Flacco ranked No. 21 with 3,141 yards passing and No. 25 with a 80.4 passer rating. But he finished strong, throwing nine touchdowns and two interceptions over the last five games.

          "As far as numbers and things like that, the first half of the season to the second half of the season was dramatic," Harbaugh said. "To me, it speaks to what I am talking about. I think the number of interceptions, the touchdown passes, those kind of things, it is just a dramatic turnaround. It definitely speaks to his health."