Former Ravens DL Rips Joe Flacco Over Mentor Comments

Former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is still hanging around at 40 years old, and he's made it clear that he intends to play, not just ride the bench.

Speaking with reporters earlier this week, Flacco stated that he doesn't see himself as a mentor to younger quarterbacks Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, the latter two being rookies. He also claimed the reporter who asked the question tried to "bait" him into giving a juicy soundbite.

Former NFL defensive lineman Chris Canty, Flacco's teammate in Baltimore, took issue with that answer on Friday's episode of ESPN's "Unsportsmanlike."

"Mentoring a young player is only going to make that player better, which makes the team better," Canty said, per CBS Sports' Brad Crawford. "You're only as strong as your weakest link. The whole point of the exercise is that everybody makes everyone better. That's why you practice. You're making each other better. It's what you're supposed to do. You do that with the reps on the practice field, but you also do that by sharing points and notes in the film room.

"It's a ridiculous answer from Joe Flacco. There's no guarantee Joe Flacco is going to be healthy for 17 games, especially at 40 years old."

Flacco is far from the only veteran quarterback to say he doesn't necessarily want to be a mentor to his younger teammates, and he won't be the last. Still, Canty feels like it's a bad look for his former teammate.

"It's stupid to not consider trying to do everything that you can to coach these other guys up," Canty said. "Nobody is saying you have to do your job at a lesser level in terms of performing on the field, but if you can happen to impart some wisdom onto those guys who you're spending 16 hours a day with in training camp, why wouldn't you do that?"

"Just because you're mentoring, doesn't mean you can't be the starting quarterback. His answer is non-sensical. I hate going so hard at one of my former teammates, but it's one of the dumbest things I've heard Joe Flacco ever say."

The Browns are firmly in a rebuild, and likely brought in Flacco as a stopgap until they find a quarterback of the future. If he can lead by example, though, that'd be a very welcome bonus.