Flacco out with back injury; Ravens may bring in Kaepernick
OWINGS MILLS, MD. » An injury to quarterback Joe Flacco might open the door for Colin Kaepernick to join the Baltimore Ravens.
Flacco missed the first full practice of training camp Thursday because of a back injury and is expected to be out for at least a week. Coach John Harbaugh said the team likely needs to bring in another quarterback and is considering Kaepernick, who opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers on March 3.
Kaepernick drew significant attention for not standing for the traditional playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” before games. However, Harbaugh called Kaepernick a “great guy” and views him as a viable option in Baltimore.
“He and I have been talking throughout the summer a number of times.” Harbaugh said about Kaepernick. “He’s a guy right now that’s being talked about. We’ll just see what happens with that. It will all be speculation right now. He’s a really good football player. As I’ve said at the owners’ meetings, I do believe he’ll be playing in the National Football League this year.”
Flacco threw for a franchise-record 4,317 yards with 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 201.Harbaugh said doctors assured him that Flacco’s injury is not long term.
“Everything looks fine Joe,” Harbaugh said. OWINGS MILLS, MD. » Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel has retired from the for NFL after just three seasons.
Urschel, a former fifth round pick from Penn State in 2014, received attention for pursuing his doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the offseason. He started 13 games over the past three seasons and was expected to compete for a starting role at center or guard.
Broncos lose Booker to wrist injury
ENGLEWOOD, COLO. » Broncos coach Vance Joseph’s first training camp got off to a rough start with word that Devontae Booker, who was pushing to unseat C.J. Anderson as Denver’s starting running back, will undergo wrist surgery Friday and is expected to miss six weeks.
Booker suffered a hairline fracture late in OTAs but he and the team thought it was just a minor sprain until the Broncos did X-rays Wednesday when he reported for his training camp physical.
“And it was a wrist fracture,” Joseph said. “So, it’s obviously been there for a couple of months and we didn’t know and he didn’t know.”
It wasn’t something Booker tried to keep from the team, either. “No, he didn’t hide it. It was a football nick, he thought . ... ” Joseph said.