OWINGS MILLS — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has organized a week of workouts and throwing sessions with several teammates that kicks off today in Arizona.
Flacco will be throwing to tight ends Todd Heap, Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta and wide receivers Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason and Justin Harper.
"It’s really nice out in Arizona," Flacco said earlier this month during a charity appearance. "We get together later this month. We’re going to go out to Arizona and hang out with Todd and there’s a facility out there. We could probably play a litlte bit of golf, too. It’s a pretty nice time of year to do that."
Flacco said he only recently resumed throwing the football and has mostly been running and lifting weights.
"I’m really just starting to get back in the swing of things in terms of throwing the ball," Flacco said. "So, I can take it at a gradual pace. This is the time when you want to make sure you keep your arm in shape, but not overwork yourself or get hurt or worn out before the season comes. I’m really just starting to get back into it and and I’m feeling good."
Flacco said he has been playing catch with his brother, Baltimore Orioles minor league baseball player Mike Flacco.
"I like to throw the football, having a catch with my brother and stuff like that right now," Flacco said. "Really, I like to throw a baseball a little bit to keep my arm in shape. When you throw a baseball, you have a little bit higher arm speed.
"So, you can kind of keep your arm adapted to that. I’ve been doing that a little bit and just throwing the ball against a wall. You can get a ton of throws in really quick. I throw it harder than him, I think. He’ll tell you differently."
Flacco registered career-highs last season with 3,622 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, 7.41 passing yards per attempt, a 93.6 passer rating and a career-low 10 interceptions.
Flacco said he’s not concerned about whether there will be football this fall, or if he and his teammates will be physically and mentally prepared whenever the labor dispute is resolved.
"I have confidence that we’re going to play," Flacco said. "Beyond that, I haven’t really been thinking about it too much. The beauty of today is everybody works out somewhere and keeps in shape. So, that’s all anybody has to do right now is keep themselves in shape and be ready when we come back, whenever that is.
"I think with the team we have we’ll benefit from this kind of thing because everybody will be doing that and we can trust guys to do that. I haven’t been following it too much beyond that I have confidence that we’ll play and I’m kind of just waiting it out right now."
