The Baltimore Ravens begin their organized team activities this week, and they find themselves in a situation unlike any other team in the league.

The Ravens are the only team that's expected to be without their starting quarterback for all of the OTAs this spring.

For the first time in nine years, quarterback Joe Flacco won't be on the field for the Ravens' offseason workouts because he's recovering from season-ending knee surgery. Flacco recently said that he has made "big improvements" in his rehab, and coach John Harbaugh said last month that Flacco remains on track to return for the start of training camp in late July.

Ryan Mallett will take all of the snaps with the first-team offense, and the other reps will be divided between Jerrod Johnson and Josh Johnson, who have combined to play for 13 teams since 2011.

While missing all of the offseason workouts isn't devastating for a starting quarterback, it's the time when they can form a rapport with their targets, especially new ones. As former Ravens coach Brian Billick often said about OTAs: If they weren't important, teams wouldn't schedule them.

So, will Flacco be able to build chemistry with free-agent additions Benjamin Watson and Mike Wallace before the start of the season?

"At the end of the day, training camp is going to be enough time," Flacco said last month. "I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get a ton of time before that. So that's going to be enough time. You'd like to get as much as you can, but that'll be plenty to get going."

Other than Flacco, Denver's Mark Sanchez is the only projected starting quarterback scheduled to miss time this spring. He recently underwent surgery on his left thumb and is expected to miss the first week of OTAs.

The other starting quarterbacks who dealt with injuries and surgeries this past year -- Dallas' Tony Romo (collarbone), Indianapolis' Andrew Luck (kidney, ribs and shoulder), Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers (knee scope) and Cincinnati's Andy Dalton (thumb) -- are all expected to be full-go at spring workouts, according to ESPN NFL Nation reporters.