Joe Flacco, Ravens Expected To Start Contract Talks

Joe Flacco often talks about how little respect he gets. Soon enough, he'll be able to put a monetary value on that. The fourth-year quarterback has reached the end of his rookie contract and he is set to start talking extension with the Baltimore Ravens soon.

Ravens set to open contract extension talks with Joe Flacco's agent, Joe Linta, at combine next week. Both sides aim for long-term deal

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 14, 2012

It's tough to say what kind of extension the 27-year-old can expect. ESPN's Jamison Hensley speculated that Flacco could probably expect to find himself in the same neighborhood as Kevin Kolb and Ryan Fitzpatrick, who both signed deals that paid them about $10 million a year but only guaranteed them a tick over $20 million. Hensley seemed to think Flacco might be able to get closer to $30 million guaranteed, but shouldn't be anywhere near the deals Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning inked when they first hit free agency. Each signed deals of at least seven years and $100 million. Flacco made about $4.5 million last year and had a cap hit of about $8.6 million.

It's still tough to know what to make of Flacco, who has been impressively consistent over the past three years. In each year, he's thrown for about 3,600 yards, 20-odd touchdowns and 10-12 interceptions. His career 86.0 rating suggests he's a solid but unspectacular quarterback.

For more on Flacco's situation, be sure to check out Ravens blog Baltimore Beatdown.