Flacco not worried about swollen ankle

OWINGS MILLS - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco's sprained right ankle can be filed under the category of not serious.

Although Flacco didn't practice over the past few days during the bye week, he anticipates practicing Monday when the team returns to work heading into its upcoming game against the undefeated Denver Broncos.

"It feels good, I could easily play if we had to," Flacco said. "It's no big deal."

Flacco wasn't limping yesterday, but does have some swelling in his ankle after getting his left foot stomped on by Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen during the first quarter of a 33-31 loss.

Trying to retreat away from Allen, Flacco turned his ankle.

"It kind of irritated it," Flacco said.

He remained in the game and piled up a career-high 385 passing yards as he nearly engineered an epic comeback.

With Flacco passing for two touchdowns and 196 yards in the fourth quarter, the Ravens nearly overcame a 27-10 deficit.

"I think he's about four shoe sizes bigger right now than it was before, so it's really swollen," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh in a joking manner. "He should be back practicing Monday."

Yesterday, Flacco was able to drop back from center a few times on the side while Troy Smith and John Beck took the snaps.

Flacco has never missed a start in 25 career games, including the postseason. He's expected to make a full recovery.

"I think I was a little bit limited if I tried to do a straight-ahead sprint," Flacco said. "Other than that, it feels pretty good. I'm going to give it some rest the next couple of days and come back ready to go."

The Audubon, N.J., native planned to attend the Philadelphia Phillies' playoff game with his family last night, rooting them on against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"I don't know if I've always been a big Phillies fan, but I'm admitting I'm a little bit of a frontrunner," Flacco said.

Contracts RESTRUCTUREd: The Ravens have restructured the contracts of nose guard Kelly Gregg and outside linebacker Jarret Johnson, according to NFL Players Association records.

Gregg's scheduled base salary for this year has been reduced from $3 million to $1.933 million. And Johnson's contract was reduced from $4 million to $1.983 million.