Joe Flacco missed Ravens minicamp practice on Wednesday.
But he had a good excuse – he's about to be a dad.
Flacco's wife, Dana, went into labor Wednesday and he left Baltimore to head to a hospital in the couple's home state of New Jersey. This will be the Flacco's first child.
"Joe got the call this morning, and obviously the labor had started and Joe was high-tailing up the road," Head Coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday after practice. "I wish them nothing but the best."
The couple chose to not find out the gender of the baby until it was born and had also not decided on a name.
Before getting the call on Wednesday, Flacco had been on “baby watch,” carrying his cell phone to meetings and also gave a few team employees' numbers to Dana in case she was unable to reach him when she went into labor.
"I'm excited," he said last week. "I can't wait. You never know when it's going to come. The last week felt like it took forever. But it will be here soon."
That time is now, and Flacco knows his life is about to go through a major change.
"It's pretty big. I don't know if I really know the extent of it right now," Flacco said. "I'll see how much my life changes."
