The Cincinnati Bengals and veteran quarterback Joe Flacco have come to terms on a 1 year deal for $6M in guaranteed money on Tuesday. According to reports, if Flacco hits all the incentives, the contract could be worth as much as $9M for 2026.
After starting the year as Cleveland’s number 1 QB, the 41 year old ceded starts to rookie Dillon Gabriel, who was eventually replaced by Shedeur Sanders. Once Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow went down with turf toe, Cincinnati sent a 2026 5th round pick to their instate neighbours for Flacco and a 2026 6th rounder.
Across 9 appearances for the Bengals, Flacco completed 61.7% of his passes for 1,664 yards, 13 TDs and 4 INTs. He also managed to sprinkle in a vintage 470 yard performance in a shootout against the Chicago Bears which eclipsed his previous career high.
As a result, he was named as a replacement QB at last year’s Pro Bowl games following several injuries and playoff conflicts. Somehow, that nod marked the first time in the 6’6″ pivot’s 18 year career that he was named a Pro Bowler.
With Burrow expected to be back to full health in 2026, Flacco will serve as an above average backup, but isn’t likely to see much action barring another injury to Cincinnati’s franchise signal caller. After winning a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, he’s had stops in Denver, New York (Jets), Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati.
According to sources, Flacco was weighing his options between returning to the Bengals or joining the Las Vegas Raiders to serve as a mentor to likely number 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. He figures to be the team’s number 2 QB on the depth chart, with Josh Johnson acting as the 3rd string QB in place of Jake Browning.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.