ENGLEWOOD, Colorado — Joe Flacco is a quarterback, more precisely, the Broncos’ starting quarterback.
It’s not his responsibility to take care of the guy who will eventually replace him.
It’s Broncos’ offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello who gets paid to teach. If Flacco is going to mentor rookie quarterback Drew Lock, it will be by accident.
“You gotta be careful how you answer this,’’ Flacco said following the Broncos’ first organized team activity (OTA) practice Monday. “I think that is, like I said, it’s kind of Rich’s job. It’s to be in that quarterback room and watch. That’s how you can develop.
“Listen I have so many things to worry about. I’m trying to go out there and play good football. I’m trying to go out there and play the best football of my life.’’
The NFL is a competitive business. It is not for the meek. Flacco was asked about his reaction to the Broncos trading up in the second round to nab Lock, a quarterback from Missouri who many draft analysts thought would go to the Broncos with the No. 10 overall pick in the first round.
That Lock fell to the No. 42 overall pick diminished the threat to Flacco some, but not completely.
“Listen, I’ve told you guys how I felt about it,’’ Flacco said. “There really isn’t much more that needs to be said. I told you that it’s not really in my control.”
What Flacco said before the draft is he hoped the Broncos selected players that improved the current team with the idea he was their quarterback. Obviously, one of their top picks went on his backup and future replacement.
Based on the first day of OTAs, Lock is a ways away from threatening Flacco for the starting job. Flacco through his presence, his timing, his passing looked like the 10 ½ year starter he is.
Lock can gun it. But he is far from polished. He’ll learn. He just won’t necessarily learn from Flacco. Competitive Joe has better things to do. Like help the Broncos win on Sunday.
“I’m not a selfish person, I don’t think,’’ Flacco said. “There are times where you have to be selfish. But listen, Rich does such a good job in those meeting rooms. Drew is going to learn from listening to him talk and then us getting the reps on the field and seeing how we all do it as a collective group of quarterbacks.
“Listen, I hope he does learn from me because that means we’re out there and we’re slinging it around and having a lot of fun. Because he’s going to learn by watching us do it and watching us do it well. That is how he is going to learn the timing and all of those things is to be able to see it on film and hear Rich talk about it with me and digest as much of that as possible. Like I said, I hope he does learn from me because that means we’re out there lighting it up.”
