The 40-year-old joined the Bengals in a trade from Cleveland in Week 6 and went 1-5 before Joe Burrow returned from turf toe surgery to finish the season. He said he enjoyed his brief time in Cincinnati; however, he’s not quite ready to give up on the idea of competing for a job or finding somewhere that needs a bridge starter.
That could mean holding off on signing until a job opens up, but Flacco hopes he has options going into Year 19.
“I mean those are conversations that I’m having with myself and I think first of all, just like you said, I think one thing to be more selective is the right terms because you just don’t know if there’s going to be any opportunities out there,” Flacco said. “So, hopefully I’m afforded the ability to be selective, but you never know if that’s going to be the case. And then when you are presented with an opportunity, like I said, I tend to look at it as an opportunity, so it can be hard to turn that down, but I do hope that I have the ability to step back a little bit and make that decision. And obviously I’m going to have people, my wife and people in my family and friends that I can bounce those things off of. But there’s definitely scenarios where I feel like I would be welcome to maybe saying, ‘Ah, I’ll wait,’ and be that guy.”
Flacco hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2017, his 10th season with the Baltimore Ravens team that drafted him No. 18 overall in 2008. He was replaced by Lamar Jackson midway through the 2018 season and since then he’s been chasing opportunities to play with Denver (2019), the New York Jets (2020-22), Cleveland (2023 and 2025) and Indianapolis (2024), before finishing this season in Cincinnati.
Cleveland made him its Week 1 starter after he won a competition among four other quarterbacks, but it was clear he would have a chance there from the start because of Deshaun Watson’s injury.
After going 1-3, the Browns benched him. Two weeks later, he was traded, but Flacco knew he was buying time until Burrow returned. Bengals coach Zac Taylor said he would love to have Flacco back, but he respects that Flacco might want to go where he would have more opportunity to play.
“I think it’d be valuable,” Taylor said. “I think he’s a starting quarterback in the NFL. I think anytime you’ve experienced that and you’re able to get him back, that’d be great. Now, I’ll let him speak for himself. He’ll have to look at those opportunities. … And we’ll see what his future holds for him. He’s got to make that decision. … But I do know that he wants to keep playing. And I appreciate that about him. So again, what a fun time that was, getting here, getting to know him and the effect he had on our team. And we’ll just see how it shakes out in the future.”
The opportunity to throw to wide receivers like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins makes the idea of being a backup to Burrow something Flacco would still consider.
Credit: JEREMY MILLER
Credit: JEREMY MILLER
Flacco repeatedly talked about how special Chase and Higgins are and how much easier they made his job. He respected them both so much he had them sign jerseys for him before leaving Paycor Stadium on locker cleanout day. Chase also had asked for Flacco to sign a jersey for him.
That in itself is a sign Flacco will probably look elsewhere, but he’s not ruling out a return.
“I think until those things get presented to you and you actually have the super specific scenario, it’s hard to put a weight on it,” Flacco said. “I mean, obviously, I think the last five or six years I’ve wanted to get to a point where I’m playing again. And even though I’m going to a place where that might not be the case right away, if there is an opportunity that randomly presents itself while I’m there, I was open, I was cool with that. And this is a unique place because if you come here, there could be no hope of ever playing. And I think there’s a world, where okay, that’s okay, but it’s hard to say what that is right now. All I can do is kind of lean on my experience here and the fun that I had with a group of guys in this locker room, and that’ll play a part in it.”
Deciding to be a backup somewhere is a little more difficult if he’s committing to be away from his family in New Jersey without a real chance to play. His wife and kids understand the window on his career is closing, but it’s easier to sign up for a job separate from them if he’s “the guy for sure.”
If this is it for him and the Bengals, Flacco won’t soon forget the experience.
“I mean, this place has been special and it’s easy to kind of come in here every day and see the connection that you can make with your teammates, and that’s going to play a big part in it,” Flacco said. “But also just hearing the fans in the stadium and then not only hearing the fans in the stadium and seeing how receptive they’ve been since the day I’ve gotten here, which is you never know, because I’ve played in this division for such a long time as an enemy, you really do never know how it’s going to be received. But then not only in the stadium, but just around town and seeing people in the streets and everything like that, it’s been pretty cool for me. So they definitely have, Cincinnati will now forever have a spot in my life that I’ll remember forever and think back very fondly on."
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