{"id":286358,"date":"2026-06-05T18:29:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=286358"},"modified":"2026-06-05T18:29:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:29:56","slug":"flacco-returning-joe-burrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/06\/05\/flacco-returning-joe-burrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Burrow Discusses Joe Flacco Returning to Cincinnati for 2026 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joe Flacco returning to the Cincinnati Bengals for the 2026 season was not surprising to anyone, and starting quarterback Joe Burrow did not hide his feelings<\/a> on the matter. Burrow has been the Bengals QB1 since the beginning of the 2020 season. Despite Flacco playing for the Baltimore Ravens from 2008-2018<\/a> and for the Cleveland Browns in 2023<\/a>, he and Burrow have never played against one another. Even though Flacco spent the majority of his career playing for two of the Bengals AFC North rivals, Burrow seems genuinely happy that Flacco is now with Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

Flacco Returning to the Bengals or 2026: Burrow Gives His Take<\/h2>\n

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In a recent article with Sports Illustrated<\/a>, Burrow had the following to say about Flacco returning to the Bengals.<\/p>\n

“I am excited about having Joe back, he’s a guy that I like, I think we’re pretty similar people and he’s a funny guy, fun guy to be around, and played well when he was in there” Burrow said. “I think we look at the world in a unique way and certainly have some unique takes on some things going on in the world, and it’s always interesting to have conversations with people who have a unique point of view on topics like that.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Burrow’s Appreciation for Flacco Returning Goes Beyond Football<\/h3>\n

The tone of Burrow’s comments toward Flacco returning suggest that his appreciation for him is not only on the field. Burrow admitted that Flacco is capable of playing if his number is called, but much of the quote revolved around the personal connection between them and the conversations they have when not playing the game. It’s obvious that despite being in the twilight of his career, Burrow still sees considerable value in Flacco\u2019s presence on the roster.<\/p>\n

Just as importantly, Burrow seems completely content having an accomplished veteran at the quarterback position. Instead of seeing Flacco as a direct competitor, Burrow sees a teammate in him and somebody whose advice will be valued. Flacco returning to Cincinnati will only provide depth and experience at the quarterback position, and given Burrow’s history with injuries it is something they cannot afford to have.<\/p>\n

Can Flacco Still Throw Better than Most?<\/h3>\n

Burrow further complimented Flacco when spoke about how he still throws the ball better than most.<\/p>\n

“I think he throws it better than, No. 1, a lot of people give him credit for,” Burrow said. “And I think he’s one of the more natural throwers of the football that I’ve ever seen. He can spin it with the best of them. He’s got one of the strongest arms of all-time. So he’s going to be able to put the ball when and where he wants to put it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The context behind Burrow\u2019s comments also show us this is not just about adding a veteran to the QB room. In all of the praise Burrow had for him, he spent most of it mentioning the strength and pure mechanics of his arm. Burrow sees Flacco returning not just as an accomplished veteran but as a capable thrower of the ball in the NFL. It speaks a lot about the perception of Flacco that Burrow, one of the most dominant QBs in the game, is saying Flacco is one of the best natural throwers that he’s ever seen.<\/p>\n

Will Flacco Take the Field in 2026?<\/h3>\n

Whether Flacco gets a ton of action in 2026 is yet to be seen, but Burrow has made it clear what he thinks of the veteran. The Bengals still want him around because of his experience, leadership, and arm strength that is still more than capable for backup quarterback duties. Having an established presence to support Burrow in a Super Bowl contending season helps keep the Bengals stable at the most critical position.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Albert Cesare\/The Enquirer \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Flacco returning to the Cincinnati Bengals for the 2026 season was not surprising to anyone, and starting quarterback Joe Burrow did not hide his feelings on the matter. Burrow has been the Bengals QB1 since the beginning of the 2020 season. Despite Flacco playing for the Baltimore Ravens from 2008-2018 and for the Cleveland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5774,"featured_media":286410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,7,6431],"tags":[7725,235,34916],"class_list":["post-286358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-bengals","category-nfl-teams","tag-cincinnati-bengals-news","tag-joe-flacco","tag-jor-burrow"],"modified_by":"Mike Roberts","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5774"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286358"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":286412,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286358\/revisions\/286412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}