An adage reads:
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Applying that adage to an NFL transaction, the object under analysis would be Joe Flacco. After earning the starting QB job for the Browns during Training Camp, Flacco was less than sterling in the opening games for the Browns. In 4 starts, the Browns’ record was 1-3-0 and Flacco’s stat line was an unimpressive one:
- 93 of 160 for 815 yards with 2 TDs and 6 INTs
Let me save you the trouble of getting your calculator revved up. He completed 58.1% of his throws; he averaged 5.1 yards per attempt; if you are into “Passer Ratings”, his rating was 60.6 and that is not a good rating at all. Last weekend, the Browns sat Flacco down and played rookie Dillon Gabriel at QB. The Browns lost that game but must have seen enough from Gabriel to go forward with him; so, they traded Joe Flacco to the in-state rival, Cincy Bengals.
The Bengals are smack dab in the middle of dealing with a struggling QB. When Joe Burrow had to undergo toe surgery that will keep him out of action until at least December 2025, the Bengals turned to Jake Browning who had been a capable fill-in for them back in 2023. However, Browning has not been as effective this year and here is his stat line for 4 game appearances in 2025:
- 80 of 124 for 757 yards with 6 TDs and 8 INTs
I think we can agree that neither stat line is impressive. But the Bengals determined that it was worth it to them to acquire Flacco in a trade. Here is the exchange:
- Browns get a fifth-round pick in 2026
- Bengals get Flacco plus a sixth-round pick in 2026.
Lots of commentators have labeled this trade as “unusual” because it is “inter-divisional”; I agree with that assessment. However, I think it is unusual on another axis. When the Browns “demoted” Flacco to backup status, it seemed clear to me that they were not going to play him any more in 2025 unless Gabriel was injured. Although the coaches and team execs would never admit this, I honestly believe that the Browns know that they are not going to make the playoffs in 2025 and need to know if they have a QB asset in Gabriel and/or Shedeur Sanders who now becomes the backup QB in Cleveland. Moreover, Flacco was on a one-year deal in Cleveland; and at age 40, he was clearly not part of the long-range plan for the club.
Joe Flacco is the “trash” in the adage above and the Browns managed to get a pick-swap for him in this trade. Congratulations to the Browns for pulling that off. Now here is what I do not understand:
- Why did the Bengals make this trade?
- Why do they see him as the “treasure” now?
When Joe Burrow is back and healthy, he will be the QB in Cincy; neither Flacco nor Browning is going to change that situation in the least. And when you compare the two stat lines for 2025, Browning’s performance is slightly better than Flacco’s notwithstanding the fact that both stat lines are bad ones.
According to the Bengals website, they had Brett Rypien as the backup QB on the depth chart behind Browning until they acquired Flacco. But does it make a lot of sense to give up a pick-swap for a 40-year-old backup? Here is a possible motivation for the Bengals in the deal:
- They need someone who can start at QB for a while as the coaches work with Browning to get him back to the performance level he showed in 2023. Joe Flacco can fill that role.
- If that interpretation is valid, then Joe Flacco might just be the best available option. I know this is not the full list, but scanning the late Training Camp cuts for QBs who have not signed elsewhere and practice squad members, here are some of the other free-agent options or practice squad members who might be available to the Bengals:
-
- CJ Beathard
- Tim Boyle
- Taylor Heinicke
- Nate Sudfeld
- Dorian Thompson-Robinson
- Kyle Trask
-
Joe Flacco is at the head of the class there …
If I were assigning academic grades to the Browns and Bengals for this trade, I would give the Browns an “A” because they got a small asset in exchange for something that was not of much value to them. I would simultaneously give the Bengals a grade of “Incomplete” because it is not clear to me what the Bengals will do with their new acquisition nor is it clear to me that Joe Flacco is necessarily an upgrade over Jake Browning. Just as with draft picks, it is going to take some time to assess what the Bengals received in this transaction.
Finally, I started today with an adage about trash and treasure. So, I’ll close with a simple observation:
“Some people are such treasures that you just want to bury them.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
Great piece!