Ravens reportedly trading Joe Flacco to Broncos; impact on Patriots?

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The ongoing quarterback experiment in Denver is taking another interesting turn.

The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to trade quarterback Joe Flacco to the Broncos, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday. Denver will send a "mid-round" draft pick to Baltimore in return, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.

The deal can't be made official until the new league year starts on March 13, but Denver head coach Vic Fangio's connection with Flacco during his one season in Baltimore apparently played a role in the deal.

The Broncos have rotated through mediocre quarterbacks since Peyton Manning retired in 2015, with Case Keenum slogging the club to a 6-10 record last season.

Whether Flacco can turn their fortunes around remains to be seen. The 34-year-old veteran is a Super Bowl MVP with a proven track record of playoff success but appears to be in the back nine of his career; he played in just nine games last season while battling a hip injury and remained on the bench in favor of rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson in the Ravens' AFC Wild Card Round loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

The New England Patriots will play the Flacco-less Ravens this season but not the Broncos. Denver general manager John Elway apparently is hoping Flacco can help his team return to prominence in an AFC dominated by the Patriots, who have reached the Super Bowl in four of the last five seasons.

The Patriots hardly should be concerned about the Broncos as a threat, though; Denver still is just the third-best team in its division behind the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers, and a 34-year-old Flacco won't exactly move the needle.

Where the Flacco trade could impact New England is in the 2019 NFL Draft. Many expected the Broncos to target a quarterback in the first round of the draft -- including NBC Sports Boston's own Phil Perry -- but Denver appears to have addressed that issue via trade.

Click here for Phil Perry's 2019 NFL Mock Draft

That means an extra QB could be on the board by the time the Patriots draft at No. 32 and potentially eye Tom Brady's heir apparent.

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