One of the biggest questions surrounding the Baltimore Ravens heading into the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals was the availability of starting quarterback Joe Flacco.

The 32-year-old has silenced all doubt about his status heading into Week 1 as he has declared himself ready to play against the division rival Bengals, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.

Joe Flacco: "it's not ideal but I feel good now and I'm ready to go." pic.twitter.com/ABucKXgZM4 — Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) September 6, 2017

Flacco: "I'm going to be as confident as ever when I take the field." — Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) September 6, 2017

Flacco was initially expected to miss three to six weeks with disk injury in his back but has progressed well enough to the point where he’s confident to take the field. He had returned to practice earlier this week for the first time since suffering the injury that forced him to miss the entire preseason.

His presence should provide the offense a huge boost ahead of the season opener. It may take him a game or two to knock the rust off, but Flacco could be in store for another productive campaign. He is coming off a season where he had a career-high 4,317 yards on 64.9 percent completion rate with 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while playing in all 16 regular season games.

The Ravens will be in the mix once again for the NFC North division title along with a playoff spot as long as Flacco remains under center throughout the season. Baltimore has only reached the postseason once in the last four years.