NFL agent Joe Linta found himself in the 24-hour news cycle this past weekend when he criticized the Baltimore Ravens for their failure to re-sign quarterback Joe Flacco before his breakout playoff run last season.
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Linta said the Ravens failed to go the extra mile in negotiations last summer, leading to a situation in which the Super Bowl MVP's price tag later shot up by $35 million.
"I've never in my life seen a dumber move," Linta said.
On Tuesday, Linta was a guest on WJZ-FM in Baltimore, and he added some context to that interview with USA Today. Linta said the comments came after three months of talk that Flacco's $121 million contract prevented the Ravens from retaining several key veterans.
"After a while, you get sick of it because Joe is consummate pro, he's a phenomenal player, a great father, a great husband and a great son," Linta said. "To be honest with you, in sort of a parental mode, I had gotten sick of the intimations that he was greedy and that type of thing."
Linta went on to defend his prior word choice.
"Look, they're brilliant guys, they won the Super Bowl, but I thought it was dumb," he said. "If that's the worst thing that they get called in their existence, then they got a pretty good situation. They know how I feel. Everything that was quoted, I told them in August. This is not news to them. I'm allowed to have my opinion."
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Linta said arguments are part of the business, and he doesn't anticipate any future issues with the Ravens. He added there's nothing he has said that Flacco doesn't already know.
"He knows how I feel. I'm never going to be ashamed for sticking up for somebody I truly believe in," Linta said. "And I believed in him long before he was an MVP of the Super Bowl."
Linta likely would have steered clear of any drama had he used softer phrasing in the first place. Still, he doesn't seem particularly bothered by how things played out.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
