The much-talked-about meeting between Joe Flacco and his wide receivers in the offseason will happen, the Ravens quarterback said. It's just not on the calendar yet.
When Flacco reported back to work at the start of the strength and conditioning program, he said he wanted to get together with his bevy of new targets between when minicamp ended and training camp began.
Reporters followed up with Flacco at the conclusion of minicamp Thursday to make sure it was still in the plans.
"They're not for sure cemented, but I'm going to be in touch with Mike [Crabtree], Willie [Snead IV], 'Smoke' [Brown]," Flacco said.
"It's going to be a lot of fun. The good thing with these guys is they come up to you and are like, 'Hey Flac, you text me, we're out there.' We'll be getting together and it'll be good for us."
So when's it going to happen?
"I thought about doing something really close to right now and minicamp, but with the work we put in for the past four weeks, I want to give these guys a quick break before we get together," Flacco said. "But it's going to happen quickly because I have to be back in here in like a week."
Ravens rookies and injured veterans report for training camp on July 11. Veterans report a week later on July 18 and the first full-team practice is on July 19. That leaves about a month of downtime.
Getting together this year makes more sense than in previous seasons because Flacco is healthy and has a lot of new targets. Crabtree, Brown and Snead were all signed this offseason. There are two rookie receivers with Jaleel Scott and Jordan Lasley and two rookie tight ends in Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews.
Flacco and his wideouts have been talking about setting up these outside-of-normal-work-hours sessions throughout the offseason, Head Coach John Harbaugh said.
"I think it's always good to work the precision of the passing game," Harbaugh said. "I think Joe really likes these guys. These guys are chomping at the bit. … Did he mention when he's going to do it? I look forward to hearing when that's going to be."
Snead said he's looking forward to getting together with Flacco, as well as rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson. Snead and Jackson live down the street from each other and Brown is nearby too.
"I think it's huge, just for timing purposes and knowing your receivers and knowing what type of receiver he is, what makes him tick and just getting to know that person," Snead said.
"When I was in New Orleans, I know Drew [Brees] always wanted to get together. When Joe brought that up, I thought that was key. That type of timing comes up during the season. When you need a big play on third or fourth down and you're looking for a guy, you know exactly where he's going to be because you've put that timing in."
