After a Week 5 loss to the Lions, their third straight lopsided defeat under backup signal-caller Jake Browning, the Bengals aggressively began searching for a different Joe Burrow fill-in. Led by director of player personnel Duke Tobin, the Bengals put together an extensive list of potential upgrades over Browning, Albert Breer of SI.com details.
Before swinging a trade with the division-rival Browns for Joe Flacco, the Bengals considered Anthony Richardson (Colts); Kirk Cousins (Falcons); the Giants’ backup duo of Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston; the Rams’ Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett; Tanner McKee (Eagles); and Josh Johnson (Commanders). They joined the previously reported Derek Carr (Saints), Sam Howell (Eagles), Drew Lock (Seahawks), and Davis Mills (Texans) in Cincinnati’s exhaustive search.
The Bengals narrowed the list down to five before choosing Flacco as the best option, according to Breer. It’s unclear who joined the 40-year-old in the group of finalists or whether the Bengals even made calls on all of those QBs.
In the end, Flacco won out as a result of a few factors. Flacco is affordable ($1.26MM base salary) and only cost a fifth-round pick. The well-traveled Super Bowl XLVII MVP also has plenty of AFC North experience, and coordinator Dan Pitcher identified him as a clear fit based on similarities between Cincinnati’s offense and Cleveland’s in terms of “spacing the field and progressing pass concepts,” Breer writes.
Two weeks into what will be a short-lived run as the Bengals’ starter, Flacco has looked like a shrewd acquisition. The Bengals lost his first start to the Packers, but they bounced back with an upset over the division-rival Steelers on Thursday.
Flacco outdueled fellow 40-something Aaron Rodgers in Week 7, going 31 for 47 for 342 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-31 thriller. He made superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the focal point of the offense, targeting him on a jaw-dropping 23 throws and hitting him 16 times for 161 yards and a score. Chase has already hauled in 26 passes and two of Flacco’s five TDs as a Bengal. Flacco has yet to throw a pick with the team after tossing six in four games with the Browns.
The goal in acquiring Flacco was to hang around long enough to make a potential Burrow return worthwhile in 2025. Burrow, who underwent toe surgery on Sept. 19, is expected to miss at least three months. That means the Bengals will have to stay in the race into December under Flacco. At 3-4, they trail the division-leading Steelers (4-2) and sit in ninth place in the AFC. While the Bengals are still facing an uphill climb, Flacco has at least given them a more credible option than Browning under center.
So far so good with Flacco … to me all of those names were just as much as a gamble as Flacco. In most cases tho , none of them including Flacco would have played with these kind of weapons … so considering that , most would have likely played above their norm.
Browning had those weapons. You still have to be a good quarterback or the weapons don’t do much
Tobin: “We weren’t desperate enough to ask Adam Sandler to come in for a tryout but we were getting there”.
But they were desperate enough to inquire about Big Tony “Bounce Pass” Richardson. Personally I’d rather have Adam Sandler.
Flacco looked good behind that OL that constantly harassed by media and fans for letting Joe get hurt. Maybe Joe is brittle?
Flacco can look good one start, then bad the next 2….given the Bengals options and the price to aquire him … seems ok. But what does this say about Browning? Bengals better address their backup QB position more aggressively because Burrow is fragile…..
I’d bet Flacco can hang around the Cincinnati sidelines holding the clipboard for Burrow until he’s ready to retire again. Might make it to 50. Pull a George Blanda (played from 1949 to 1975) and make it 26 years. He’s only at 17 or 18 years now. I wonder if they make orthopedic turf shoes.
Lets be honest, the win over the Steelers wasn’t really that BIG of an upset. They are NOT good. They escape with wins. Great win though.
Yeah, they were only 4-1. Leading the division. On a 4 win in a row streak. Just your average crappy team with 4 defensive ends who could be the number 1 guy on any other team. Yeah, not good at all. What would you say? Below average? ( In case you don’t recognize sarcasm, this is it)