Joe Flacco says in radio interview he will play Friday

Baltimore RavensquarterbackJoe Flacco will play later this week in his first game since suffering a season-ending knee injury nine months ago.

Flacco told SiriusXM's Mad Dog Sports Radio on Tuesday that he will suit up Saturday against the Detroit Lions after sitting out the first two preseason games.

"You need to get back out there [and] you need to get your mind used to getting ready for a game," Flacco said. "And then, yeah, I need to get over that last hurdle, which is going out there and being a live target for guys to hit and see how I react to it."

Flacco didn't specify how long he would play Saturday, saying the team would approach it like a typical third preseason game.

After being held out of all of the offseason practices in the spring, Flacco has put together one of his best training camps. He has looked comfortable in his second season in Marc Trestman's offense, and he hasn't missed any reps with the first-team offense.

Despite wearing a brace on his left knee, he has moved well in practice and has even scrambled to get first downs. But that all occurred when he was wearing a red jersey, which signifies no contact.

"I could have played in the first two preseason games," Flacco said. "But you just kind of think: Is it worth it to get a total of three series when you're putting yourself at risk. Is that really worth it?

"We just have decided that practice would be a really, really good measure of how I feel, and once I was ready to get used to some game reps that the third preseason game would do that. I'm excited to get out there finally."