The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... The Ravens and the agent for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco will meet this week in Indianapolis in their first negotiating session since August, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports citing a source familiar with the talks.
Diehards Line:The Ravens and Flacco's agent, Joe Linta, have been trading telephone calls in recent days to try to schedule the face-to-face negotiating session, something that's been expected and widely reported. ... In case you haven't been following along, if the two sides are unable to reach a long-term deal, the Ravens will use their franchise tag on the quarterback. Earlier this month, general manager Ozzie Newsome said he's "optimistic" that the team will get a long-term deal done. Flacco is not under contract for the coming season. The exclusive tag, which would take the 28-year-old Flacco off the free-agent market, would take $20 million of cap space this season. ... Stay tuned.