Stokley: Flacco won’t ‘play good soldier’ if Broncos draft QB at No. 10
Apr 10, 2019, 5:12 PM | Updated: Apr 11, 2019, 8:15 am
Earlier this week, Mark Schlereth said if the Denver Broncos went the direction of a quarterback with the No. 10 pick in this month’s NFL Draft, he’d be “completely fine with it.”
The “Schlereth and Evans” co-host said he’d look at the situation much like the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, wherein the 2018 NFL MVP spent his rookie season learning behind veteran quarterback Alex Smith.
“I have to go under the assumption that they’ve learned their lessons from the past drafts, they’ve learned their lessons from the Paxton Lynchs of the world, and they have targeted a guy that they think could be the future of this franchise,” Schlereth said, who added he believes there’s a slim chance the Broncos actually take a quarterback at No. 10.
“And if they’ve done their homework and they’ve gone down that direction because they’ve, basically, learned from their past mistakes, then I’m OK with that.”
One person, however, that might not be as OK with Denver selecting a quarterback could be the man the club traded for this offseason to fill that position, Joe Flacco.
“Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley said on Wednesday Flacco “absolutely” could take issue with the Broncos going quarterback at No. 10, especially after being replaced in Baltimore last season by rookie Lamar Jackson.
“He’s not going to play a good soldier. He’s not going to do that. He doesn’t have any history with Elway or with the Broncos or with Broncos Country,” Stokley said. “… He has no history here. He doesn’t owe them anything.”
Flacco could demand a trade, Stokley said, if the Broncos select a quarterback and while he would remain a professional and not “sabotage the season,” he likely wouldn’t show up to offseason training.
“I don’t think he plays the good soldier, plays the good teammate, plays the ‘OK, guys, whatever you want here.’ Like, no. Would you? I wouldn’t,” Stokley said. “I just went through that last year, and I had a history with that team. And now, you’re going to draft a quarterback at No. 10?
“I know I’m not going to be around here next year, so, yes, I want a trade. And I’m not coming to all this voluntary stuff. I’ll see you at training camp, and you figure everything out.”
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
