Three reasons why the Joe Flacco trade actually makes sense for the Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals pulled off an absolute stunner on Tuesday by making a trade for Joe Flacco. The trade came less than 24 hours after Bengals coach Zac Taylor had hinted that his team might be making a quarterback change this week following Jake Browning's three-interception performance during Sunday's 37-24 loss to the Detroit Lions. 

On the surface, it might seem like this trade doesn't make much sense. Flacco is 40 years old, he has zero mobility and he'll be asked to play behind a Bengals offensive line that opposing defenses have treated like a revolving door through the first five weeks of the season. Flacco has also thrown six interceptions this year, which is the third-most in the NFL behind only Browning (8) and Geno Smith (9). 

So why would the Bengals make this deal? For one, it didn't cost them very much. The Browns are sending Flacco and a sixth-round pick to the Bengals in exchange for a fifth-round pick. 

 With that in mind, let's take a look at three more reasons why this trade makes sense. 

Flacco can pick up a new offense quickly and he's familiar with the division

One problem with adding a quarterback during the middle of the season is that they have to come in and learn a new offense in just days, which isn't easy to do, but Flacco has proven that's capable of pulling that off. The Bengals will be the fifth different team that Flacco has played for over the past six years. 

In 2021, Flacco was part of a midseason trade that saw him sent from Philadelphia to the New York Jets. Flacco ended up making his first start with the Jets a few weeks after the trade and although New York ended up losing 24-17 to the Dolphins, Flacco had an impressive performance, throwing for 291 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions. 

In 2023, Flacco spent the first two months of the season on his couch as a free agent before the Browns signed him in November after Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending injury. Flacco barely had two weeks to learn the offense before he was thrust into the starting job. The veteran QB ended up going 4-1 as the Browns' starter, and not only did he keep their season afloat, but he actually led them to the playoffs. If Flacco can come anywhere close to replicating what he did in 2023, then he could certainly save the Bengals' season. 

That's two situations where Flacco had to quickly learn an offense and he ended up playing pretty well both times. No matter what happens with Flacco, it definitely feels like he's an upgrade over Jake Browning. 

Flacco will also give Taylor a chance to add a missing wrinkle to the offense. Taylor's offense was designed for Joe Burrow, so almost everything is run out of shotgun, but with Flacco running the show, you can bet he'll be lining up under center, which will bring play-action football back to Cincinnati. 

Sure, there were other quarterbacks out there -- like Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Kirk Cousins --  but if Flacco had one advantage over any other option, it's the fact that he knows the AFC North so well. The veteran has spent 13 of his 18 seasons playing in the AFC North, so he certainly knows what he'll be up against this season.

That familiarity could come into play as soon as this week. The Bengals are playing the Packers on Sunday and although they're not in the AFC North, Flacco has already faced them, and beat them. 

Flacco will be throwing to one of the best receiving tandems in the NFL

Playing behind the Bengals offensive line could get ugly, but Flacco can negate that problem if he can get the ball out quickly. The Bengals have one of the best receiving duos in the NFL in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and Flacco has shown throughout his career that he can get the ball where it needs to go. The 40-year-old will need to get the ball out quickly and that will be much easier to do if his receivers are getting open, and both Higgins and Chase have shown this year that they can get open. The problem is that Browning wasn't able to consistently get them the ball. 

In Cleveland, Flacco did throw six interceptions this year, but his top two wide receivers were Jerry Jeudy and an undrafted free agent (Isaiah Bond). Going from Jeudy and Bond to Chase and Higgins is like going from a mini-van to a Ferrari. If Flacco can quickly learn how to drive the Ferrari, the Bengals could be in good shape. 

The Bengals are very much alive in the AFC

The final reason why this deal makes sense is because the Bengals had to do SOMETHING to save their season. At 2-3, the Bengals are sitting in second place in the AFC North and just one game out of a wild-card spot in the AFC.

With the AFC North in total disarray this year, the Bengals simply couldn't afford to throw the season away with bad QB play. It just takes one look around the division to realize how winnable it is this year; The Ravens have more problems than the Bengals, the Browns are the Browns and the Steelers haven't been exactly overpowering their opponents during their 3-1 start. 

Here's a look at the current AFC North standings: 
1. Steelers (3-1)
2. Bengals (2-3)
3. Ravens (1-4)
4. Browns (1-4)

The Bengals actually play the Steelers on Thursday night in Week 7 and if they were to win that game, that would put them right back in the thick of the AFC North race. Guess who has won 11 career games against the Steelers? Joe Flacco. 

Taylor is very well aware of the state of the division and the AFC overall, which is likely why the Bengals were so willing to bring in a new QB. 

"I'm not oblivious to what goes on in the AFC and our division," Taylor said Sunday. "There's going to be plenty of opportunity there if we can stick through this storm and stick together and find a way to put us in some better positions on offense together and score some points."

With Joe Burrow possibly coming back in mid-December, they just need Flacco to keep the season afloat and he could do that by going just 5-4 in Cincinnati's next nine games. If Flacco pulled that off, the Bengals would be 7-7 with a possible Burrow return coming around Week 16. 

There's always a chance that this trade ends up going down as a disaster, but the Bengals should get some credit for even making it happen. This is a team that HATES making midseason trades -- Flacco is just the third player they've acquired midseason over the past 52 years -- but they knew they had to do something to try and save their season and that's what they're doing here.