Flacco eager to compete in return from knee injury

Joe Flacco eased back into the pocket, surveyed the field and lofted a pass that zipped 50 yards through the air into the waiting arms of rookie receiver Chris Moore.

The scene, which once might have been taken for granted, was noteworthy because of the brace affixed to the quarterback’s left knee.

Flacco practiced with his Baltimore Ravens teammates Thursday for the first time since he tore his ACL and MCL last November. Not every pass was as impressive as the one to Moore, but hey, he was plenty sharp enough to get through the opening day of training camp.

“I felt great,” Flacco said after the 2 ½-hour session. “I thought I could have thrown the ball a little better, but physically felt good, mentally I felt good.”

Now in his ninth season, Flacco set an NFL record by starting 137 straight games (including playoffs) to start his career. The run ended when he was struck in the knee in the midst of a frantic fourth-quarter drive that produced a 1613 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 22.

Surgery followed, and Flacco could only watch as the Ravens stumbled to a 5-11 finish.

Now he’s back behind center, eager to compete again but wary of how he might react when being chased by a few overeager opponents looking to increase their sack total.

“I’ve been doing a bunch of running and all that stuff the whole time, but I didn’t hurt my knee running,” Flacco said. “It was a contact injury, and I haven’t had to deal with any of those issues. I haven’t had to deal with people being around me while I’m stepping and throwing. I assume that might take a little bit of an adjustment, but I’m not too worried about it.”

The plan is to keep Flacco out of harm’s way until it’s absolutely necessary. He probably won’t start in the preseason opener against Carolina on Aug. 11 and will likely be used sparingly until the Ravens launch the regular season at home against Buffalo on Sept. 11.

Flacco, 31, took Baltimore to the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.