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It’s easy to forget that when Lamar Jackson took over for the Ravens’ longtime starting quarterback Joe Flacco during the 2018 season, Robert Griffin III had a front-row seat to the QB controversy.
In the most recent episode of his RG3 And The Ones podcast, the former NFL quarterback said that the team kept him on through that season in large part to help mentor Jackson because Flacco wasn’t doing so actively.
RGIII said that Flacco was “leading by example” and things became “awkward” between the two quarterbacks over time.
NFL fans weren’t exactly surprised by this revelation. Many recalled that it was common knowledge back in 2018 that Flacco wasn’t mentoring Jackson ahead of Jackson’s first starts for the team:
The best thing to happen to Lamar Jackson’s career was Joe Flacco refusing to mentor him https://t.co/jT2b73tmoP
— Chicago Football Connection (@CFCBears) October 26, 2023
Lol like why is that his responsibility? It’s cool if he wants to but that ain’t his job. https://t.co/6klWt4u1Gd
— Keylow (@TheyHoedMe) October 26, 2023
I mean this isn’t surprising. Why would a Super Bowl MVP wanna help someone they obviously drafted to be his predecessor? https://t.co/kLBNPWa4eW
— Jacob Simard (@SimardJacob) October 26, 2023
Joe made it known he wasn’t gonna help groom Lamar to take his spot and that’s all the help Lamar needed from Joe. https://t.co/8ggR9nzxLV
— Ⓜ️✝️🅿️ (@therealmtp1994) October 26, 2023
After Lamar Jackson helped lead the Ravens to the playoffs during the 2018 season, the Ravens traded Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos the following season. He played 20 more games over the next four years between the Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets, going 3-14 as a starter.
Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson went 39-15 in that same span, winning the MVP in 2019 and making two Pro Bowls.