The Jake Browning Era is officially over for the Cincinnati Bengals, as the team has agreed to a trade with the Cleveland Browns for quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco, a former first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens, spent the early portion of the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback before losing the job to rookie Dillon Gabriel.
The #Bengals are trading for Joe Flacco, per me and @TomPelissero
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 7, 2025
BREAKING: Bengals Trade For Joe Flacco
The Joe Flacco trade comes after three disastrous starts for former undrafted free agent Jake Browning. Taking over for an injured Joe Burrow, the veteran went 0-3 while under center, completing 64.5% of his passes for 757 yards, six touchdowns, and eight interceptions, with a sizable chunk of that production coming in garbage time. The team believed he could keep the ship afloat while Burrow recovered from his injury, but he simply couldn’t recapture his 2023 form.
Flacco, meanwhile, entered the season as the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback. Playing in his age-40 season, the one-time Super Bowl champion went 1-3 while completing 58.1% of his passes for 815 yards, two touchdowns, and six interceptions. These numbers obviously aren’t great, but he should find more success throwing to the elite receiver duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Flacco, of course, is best known for his time with the Baltimore Ravens. Selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, the quarterback won Super Bowl MVP honors after defeating Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers in the 2012 Super Bowl. He remained with Baltimore through the 2018 season when Lamar Jackson took over as the starting quarterback.
Since then, the veteran has bounced around the league, making cameos with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and Indianapolis Colts. His best non-Ravens season came in 2023 when he replaced an injured Deshaun Watson and guided the team to the playoffs. During his five-game run as the starting quarterback, Flacco completed 60.3% of his passes for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
