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INDIANAPOLIS -- After 16 NFL seasons, a Super Bowl MVP award and more than 43,000 passing yards, it's fair to ask why 39-year old Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco would want to join his fifth different team to back up a second-year quarterback. As it turns out, the answer isn't that complicated, said Flacco, who signed a one-year contract with the Colts this month. "Early in my career ... you kind of look at guys that have been around a long time," he said Friday, "and you're like, 'Man, it must be nice being around for 10 years. They probably don't even get nervous for games anymore.' "It just never happens; this game always means a ton. Every time that you take that practice field, you have a certain feeling. Every time that you go out there and play a game, you have a certain feeling that you get. You just want to go play." Flacco's exuberance for the game was never more evident than during his time filling in as the Cleveland Browns' starter late last season after Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending injury Nov. 12. Flacco helped lead a surprising run to the postseason that earned him the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year award. But it's a disposition he has always had, and he's bringing it with him to Indianapolis. Funny thing is, Flacco's love for the game was reinforced at the moment when he was furthest away from it. A year ago at this time, his phone was conspicuously quiet. Teams weren't interested in the free-agent quarterback who was 1-8 in his previous nine starts and had completed fewer than 58% of his pass attempts. It was disappointing to him, to say the least.  "I figured I'd go through training camp and all that," he said. "I figured once the season started, at some point I would get a call." But that didn't happen for many more months. The Browns didn't sign Flacco until Nov. 20, by which time their quarterback situation had become dire. And during all that waiting, Flacco realized something important. He realized he didn't have other passions to pour himself into. Even after more than $175 million in career earnings and a stellar career, Flacco needed football. "When you have something that you love to do and you enjoy putting in the work and all that, I don't know too many people that would give that up to try and go do something else or figure out what else that may be," he said. "I have no idea what else that would be. One day, I'll figure that out. But I'm not really ready to go figure out what else that may be that I love to do, especially when I'm going to be given an opportunity to do what I love to do." Flacco, now many years removed from that Super Bowl XLVII run, and more than five years after his final days as the Baltimore Ravens' franchise quarterback, isn't in Indianapolis to play a central role. In fact, if the season goes according to the Colts' plans, he won't play at all. This is Anthony Richardson's team, the quarterback the Colts spent the No. 4 pick on last year and plan to be their long-term starter. As Richardson recovers from season-ending shoulder surgery, the Colts signed Flacco to be the No. 2 behind a starter who is 18 years younger. That raised an interesting question, given some of Flacco's past statements about being a mentor at this stage of his career. "I think [mentoring] happens naturally as you become part of the team," he said. "And, like I said, you're in that room and you are going to obviously do that. I've proven to be, I think as far as I'm concerned, a good teammate, and I think that's most important. Those kind of things happen naturally. "... The end goal is to win a lot of football games here, and I want to be a part of that in any way I can."
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