'It took us by surprise': Inside the Browns, Bengals and Packers' reaction to the Joe Flacco trade
In a move no one saw coming, 40-year-old quarterback jumped from one AFC North rival to another
By
John Breech
•
9 min read
CINCINNATI -- The Cleveland Browns' decision to trade Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday was such a shocking move that even the Browns were surprised by it. Yup, they were surprised by their own trade. The Browns weren't the only ones surprised by the move, though, as the trade sent shockwaves around the NFL.
The Flacco deal had an immediate impact on three teams: the Bengals, the Browns and the Packers.
The Bengals (2-3) are trying to save their season following the Week 2 injury to Joe Burrow. As for the Browns, they just threw a lifeline to a division rival. With the move, Flacco became just the third quarterback since 2000 to be involved in an in-division trade.
On Green Bay's end, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has already announced that Flacco will start Sunday, so the Packers now have to prepare for the only quarterback who has beaten them this season.
So, how did each of these teams react to the trade? Glad you asked. Let's check in on the Bengals, Browns and Packers to see just how shocked they were.
Packers HC Matt LaFleur was surprised
The 2-1-1 Packers only have one loss this season, and it came at the hands of Flacco, who led the Browns to a 13-10 win over Green Bay in Week 3.
Three weeks later, LaFleur finds himself preparing to face the same quarterback, and it's definitely not something he's used to. "Outside of a division game, I don't think I've ever seen the same quarterback on a different team, so it will be interesting," LaFleur said Wednesday.
"I certainly was a little surprised," the Packers head coach added.
Flacco will only have four days to prepare for his first start with the Bengals, but LaFleur definitely won't be underestimating Cincinnati's new quarterback.
"I'd say that Joe Flacco has been playing this game for a really long time and he's been in a lot of different systems, so I'd bet that he'd have no problem picking it up in a short period of time," LaFleur said. "I think the hardest thing for them is going to be the nuances of your cadence, your snap count, the rapport you have with the other players. Now, he's pretty fortunate, he has some good guys to certainly throw to."
Flacco's first game against the Packers was in Cleveland, but this one will be played in Green Bay.
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski was surprised
Sending Flacco to Cincinnati was a bizarre move for the Browns. With Jake Browning under center, the Bengals' season was sinking, but the Browns decided to send them a lifeboat in the form of Flacco. Stefanski admitted he was caught off-guard by the trade.
"First, I'd tell you, the Joe trade took us by surprise," Stefanski said Wednesday. "That was not something that we saw coming. They called us. It happened very fast."
Stefanski was asked if the team had planned on trading Flacco and he gave a hard "no."
Trading Flacco to a division rival is an interesting move that will be questioned even more if the Bengals bounce back to win the AFC North. Why trade him to a division rival? According to Stefanski, Browns general manager Andrew Berry made the call.
"Obviously, AB makes those decisions," Stefanski said. "I trust AB. We talk about every decision we make. They wanted Joe. They made the phone call. Obviously, it gives Joe an opportunity to go play again, but I trust in our decisions."
Stefanski didn't really have an answer when asked if there was any concern about sending Flacco to southwest Ohio.
"I'll let Andrew speak to that. I don't want to speak for him, but I trust in his decisions."
The Browns didn't get much in return for Flacco, and this trade could backfire if Flacco ends up saving Cincinnati's season. If that happens, fans in Cleveland will likely be wondering why the Browns were willing to do a favor for a hated rival.
Now, let's move on to the Bengals' locker room, where there was also plenty of surprise.
Orlando Brown Jr. spent his rookie year with Flacco
The Bengals currently have three players on their roster who have played with Flacco at some point in their career: Orlando Brown Jr. (2018 Ravens), Noah Fant (2019 Broncos) and Dalton Risner (2019 Broncos). Brown's one season with Flacco came in Baltimore during the offensive tackle's rookie year.
"He was very influential for me as a young player coming into this league," Brown said Wednesday. "Just having a veteran quarterback to learn from, how he likes to see things, what his expectations are from a tackle, all of those things were really important to me coming in, important to him. In terms of a guy that helped me model my game, he's a big factor in that."
Brown had no idea the Bengals were thinking about adding Flacco, and he was as shocked as anyone when he heard about the news. That said, he's excited about the addition.
"I definitely think that it does bring juice," Brown said. "It brings in a positive energy, a new energy."
Noah Fant caught his first touchdown from Flacco
Noah Fant's rookie year came back in 2019 with the Broncos, which just happened to be Flacco's one season with the team. In Week 4, Fant caught his first career touchdown pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he is very aware that Flacco threw him the ball.
"He threw me my first touchdown against the Jags," Fant said. "What a cool experience for me personally, to just have that guy who helped me take those steps along in the league during my rookie year, and have him back with me is pretty cool."
Flacco was in Cleveland on Tuesday before driving down to Cincinnati on Tuesday night. By Wednesday afternoon, he was on the practice field. Considering how crazy things were for Flacco over the past 24 hours, Fant was impressed with how well the 40-year-old handled himself at practice.
"Practice ran pretty smoothly and pretty seamlessly," the Bengals tight end said. "I thought he did a great job for the first day and I'm excited to be out there playing with him and we'll see what happens."
Chase Brown reveals how the Bengals plan to get Flacco up to speed
The Bengals running back will be taking handoffs from Flacco this week, although he certainly wasn't expecting that to happen.
"Was I surprised? Yeah. I didn't expect it, to be honest," Brown said.
If you're wondering how the Bengals plan to get Flacco ready to start against the Packers in just four days, Brown explained a few of the steps that the team is taking.
"We just did a post-practice walkthrough to kind of go through some plays and show Joe where everybody's going to end up in specific concepts, so that was kind of cool," Brown said. "Just so he can kind of jog his memory and get ahead mentally. I think that's the only different thing as far as preparation-wise this week."
When Flacco takes the field, he'll become the first quarterback since Jimmy Clausen in 2015 to face the same opponent twice in one season with two different teams.
The kicker still hasn't met Flacco
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson knows that Flacco is on the same team as him because he's seen the quarterback in the locker room, but as of Wednesday afternoon, he still hadn't met his new teammate.
"I think he's a really impressive quarterback, haven't really got to spend much time or meet him," McPherson said.
If you're wondering who was the last guy in the locker room to find out about the trade, it might have been McPherson. Tuesday is an off-day for Bengals players, and the kicker doesn't use his phone much, so he had no idea a trade had actually happened until he got a random text from punter Ryan Rekhow.
"I saw a text from Ryan and he was like, 'What do you think about the trade?' And I was like, 'Trade? Who did we get," McPherson said. "So I go on Instagram and, of course, it's the first thing I see."
That's right, McPherson found out about the trade on Instagram, an app that didn't even exist during Flacco's rookie year in 2008.
Bengals DC: 'I don't think he'll get rattled'
The Bengals actually played against the Browns back in Week 1, so defensive coordinator Al Golden had to spend an entire week game-planning for Flacco, which gives him a unique perspective on Cincinnati's newest player. According to Golden, Flacco can still sling it.
"He can still get the ball down the field. That's evident," Golden said. "He can get the ball to playmakers down the field, which obviously opens up everything underneath, whether that's Mike [Gesicki], Noah [Fant], all of those things. ... The fact that he can push it down the field and it's not just a guy managing the game. This guy can throw it. Anybody can see that just being out there right now."
Golden also has total confidence that Flacco will be able to play at a high level Sunday, despite just four days of preparation.
"I don't think he'll get rattled," Golden said. "Obviously, teams will come after him because there's a new procedure and things of that nature, but he can see it. He has great vision, his pre-snap awareness is awesome. He'll kick the ball out if he gets the right look. I just think he plays with a lot of poise."
Bengals HC Zac Taylor wastes no time getting Flacco up to speed
After the Bengals made the trade for Flacco on Tuesday, Taylor decided instantly that Flacco would be the starter on Sunday against the Packers. With that in mind, Taylor knew he had to immediately start the process of getting his new quarterback prepared. The Bengals sent a driver to Flacco's house in Cleveland, and during the car ride to Cincinnati, Taylor was already on the phone with his new signal-caller.
"We talked on the phone while he drove," Taylor said Wednesday. "We just tried to cover all the base pieces of information. I mean, you like to knock out personnel and formations and motions and the easy stuff, and then when you get in here, get the nuts and bolts. So, probably talk some run game, I think, on the phone too, got into the run game plan and just the easy stuff that he knew, and it all sounded familiar. So he'll be ready to roll."
One advantage for the Bengals this week is that Flacco will be playing a Packers defense that he's already seen.
"He's played Green Bay this year, so he's already gone through a week of prep," Taylor said. "That's the nice part. The communication and the weekly rhythm is maybe different and unique. He's already prepared for this opponent. He gets a chance to refresh himself on that, while at the same time learning our system and our terminology and our verbiage and how we operate. He hasn't played there this year, so the crowd noise and all that stuff is different, but at least he's got some experience playing against them."
One other thing that Taylor likes is that Flacco is a 40-year-old veteran who has seen everything.
"It's different than a young quarterback coming in trying to learn the system and understand what a defense is trying to do to challenge you," Taylor said.
When Flacco takes the field on Sunday, he'll become the first 40-year-old to ever play for the Bengals. It would certainly be a surprise if Cincinnati, a 14-point underdog, won in Green Bay, but this has been a week of surprises for Flacco and the Bengals, so don't rule anything out.
