Flacco on likely Ravens exit: 'I can't imagine a better 11 years'

If Sunday marked Joe Flacco's last game with the Baltimore Ravens, the quarterback is at peace with his tenure.

Flacco backed up rookie Lamar Jackson during the Ravens' wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, a role he's been demoted to since Week 15. Though he's admitted that sitting on the sideline has been tough, the veteran maintained a team-first mentality.

"We made the (starting quarterback) decision what was going to happen here weeks ago," Flacco said following the game on Sunday, via Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun. "I just really wanted to see the guys turn it up a little bit and make a play of it, which they did."

"You're a part of the team," he continued. "As a backup, really you're just ready to be called on. You want to see your guys play well. So the fact that we weren't playing maybe the way we wanted to, I just felt for the guys on the team. I didn't really feel any way about me doing anything about it."

Jackson struggled in his first playoff game, completing just 48.3 percent of his pass attempts. But head coach John Harbaugh made it clear that the 22-year-old is the team's quarterback moving forward.

Baltimore is expected to move on from Flacco this offseason, either via a trade or release, but he has no ill will toward his first NFL home.

"I love the people of Baltimore," Flacco said. "It's been 11 years, and you come in and you feel one way and you don't know what to expect, but the people warm up to you, you warm up to the people, and to be honest with you, I can't imagine a better 11 years with this place becoming my home, my children's home and just how many different life changes I went through and how much we won here."

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