The Cincinnati Bengals finally made a move for a new quarterback, though it was one that nobody saw coming.
Early Tuesday afternoon, the Bengals struck a trade to acquire Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco. The deal will see Flacco and a sixth-round NFL Draft pick come to the Bengals in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
So, who are the big winners and losers from this trade?
Let’s break it down!
Winners
Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase: Now that the Bengals have a quarterback who, even at 40 years old, still has a legitimate deep ball, that’s great news for Chase and Higgins. Chase is more of a burner that can stretch the field along with Flacco’s arm, while Higgins is more of a jump-ball specialist who should benefit from Flacco’s moon balls. Those two should be happy with this addition.
Zac Taylor: Things were looking bleak for Taylor if Browning were to remain the starter, but now, there’s some hope for Taylor to string enough wins together to keep him off the hot seat. And now the ‘throw it up and pray one of Chase/Higgins gets it’ staple of his offense is officially back!
Noah Fant and Mike Gesicki: While the Bengals are hoping Flacco will make better use of their Pro Bowl wide receivers, he also should be a boost for tight ends Noah Fant and Mike Gesicki. In Cleveland, Flacco threw a ton of balls to Browns tight ends David Njoku (20 catches on 30 targets this season) and Harold Fanning (21 catches on 28 targets). Conversely, Bengals tight ends have just 38 combined targets the entire season, a mere 7.6 attempts per game.
Look for that number to increase with Flacco under center.
The offensive line: The Bengals are in a familiar place they’ve been in every year under Taylor: The offensive line is bad. That’s forced Joe Burrow and Jake Browning (when called upon) to constantly escape pressure and extend plays to keep the offense moving.
Unfortunately, that’s not something the 40-year-old Flacco can consistently do at this point in his career. So while Flacco may be a better throwing quarterback, he’s a downgrade from Browning in mobility, which is going to put even more stress on this offensive line to hold up in protection.
So while they’ve struggled mightily thus far, it’s fair to think it may actually get worse unless Flacco can consistently stretch the field and keep defenses from loading the box.
Fans hoping for a definite upgrade: While Joe Flacco will ‘probably’ be at least a slight upgrade over Jake Browning, it’s far from a done deal. Kevin Stefanski is a better head coach and offensive play-caller than Zac Taylor, whose scheme failures have been painfully evident this year.
And Flacco still played poorly under Stefanski this year, throwing two touchdowns vs. six interceptions thus far and going 1-3 as a starter while Cleveland averaged just 14 points per game under his watch. He’s simply not someone who is a clear-cut upgrade over Browning, and that’s really unfortunate for anyone hoping the Bengals would find a way to land a surefire upgrade.
Jake Browning: Coming into the 2025 season, Jake Browning was not only viewed as one of the best backup QBs in football, but some even thought he may be one of the 32 best quarterbacks in the entire league and good enough to be a starter somewhere.
Boy, has that gone out the window, and that’s really unfortunate. Had Browning been able to hit unrestricted free agency after his hot finish in 2023 or even 2024 — he was an exclusive rights free agent in the 2024 offseason who signed to a two-year deal worth just under $2 million total — he likely would have gotten a contract from someone paying him at the very least $5 million annually. It’s reasonable to think someone may have given him a deal closer to $6-8 million annually for two or three years and a chance to compete for a starting spot.
Instead, by the end of this season, Browning will have made a mere $3,463,201 in his entire NFL career (per Over the Cap) after making just $1,030,000 this year. Unless Browning gets to start again and looks more like his 2023 form, he’s likely looking at more small backup deals paying him in the $1-2 million range with very little guaranteed money.
Look at this way: Chase Daniel brought in over $36 million in career earnings and only threw 273 passes in 13 years. Jake Browning threw 243 passes alone in the 2023 season and led the NFL in completion percentage (70.4%). Sometimes you need luck to get big paydays in the NFL, and it’s clear luck has yet to be on Browning’s side in that regard.
While it’s completely fair to debate the other two losers I’ve mentioned, there’s no debating this one. Browning has watched millions of dollars go down the drain with his performance this season.
