When the Ravens play the Buccaneers in Tampa on Monday night, there will be some familiar faces in the broadcast booth.
Former Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and safety Ed Reed will be guests on ESPN’s ManningCast. It will be the first appearance on the show for the former Ravens stars, who helped lead the team to its second Super Bowl title in February 2013. The 39-year-old Flacco, who was named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player after one of the best postseason runs in league history, is now a backup for the Indianapolis Colts, while Reed, 46, spent 11 seasons with Baltimore and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
The show, which is hosted by brothers Peyton and Eli Manning, is in its fourth season and airs on ESPN+ and ESPN2 opposite ESPN’s traditional broadcast of the game. The two former quarterbacks provide analysis and insight during the game while featuring a wide range of guests.
It is also one of two Ravens games that will include the ManningCast this season, with the other slated for Nov. 25 when Baltimore travels to Los Angeles to play the Chargers in a game pitting brothers John and Jim Harbaugh against one another after the Chargers hired Jim as their coach earlier this year.
Flacco has appeared in three games (two starts) for the Colts this season while filling in for an injured Anthony Richardson and has completed 71 of 108 passes for 716 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception. Indianapolis won two of those games, which included a 20-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans last week.
Now in his 17th season, Flacco recently reflected on the end of his time in Baltimore, when a hip injury allowed Lamar Jackson to take over as the Ravens’ starter for good in 2018. Flacco was traded to the Denver Broncos that offseason.
“Man, I did not want to let Lamar get out there, that’s for sure,” Flacco said. “That was my team. And that was very hard mentally for me. I pushed it as far as I could in terms of trying to let them convince me to go out there and play. But at the same time, you don’t want to put your future career in danger.”
Richardson, who missed time with rib and oblique injuries, is expected to start Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
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