Joe Flacco Addresses Retirement Question After Browns’ Trade Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Rowan Fisher-Shotton | Last updated Oct 10, 2025 5:50 PM ET

The Cincinnati Bengals’ midseason gamble to trade for 40‑year‑old Joe Flacco is both pragmatic and symbolic. Pragmatic because Cincinnati, reeling after Joe Burrow’s injury, has scuffled offensively and needed an experienced short‑term trigger man; symbolic because Flacco’s arrival at age 40 resurrects questions about longevity and what veteran quarterbacks still offer in today’s game.

Flacco held his first official press conference with the Bengals media on Friday, just three days after being traded from the Cleveland Browns, in which a reporter asked him why he's still playing despite having already accomplished so much.

"I feel like I have a lot to offer to a football team. I've put in a lot of work my whole life to get to this point, just in terms of playing in the NFL in general. I hopefully will have a long life when I'm done, but you only get a chance to play in the NFL once," Flacco said.

"I feel like I’ve worked really hard to be a guy that gets to play in the NFL, and I don’t want to take that for granted. I still feel like I can play the game at a high level, and I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror when I’m 50 years old and say that I gave it everything I had," Flacco added.

Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15).Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Flacco arrives in Cincinnati with mixed results this season, posting 815 passing yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions across four starts with the Browns.

While his numbers have steadily declined over the years, he remains one of the league's most respected veterans, with 46,512 career passing yards (16th all-time), 259 career passing touchdowns (22nd all-time), 116 career wins (tied for 15th all-time), a Super Bowl XLVII championship, Super Bowl MVP and 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

The Bengals exchanged a Day‑3 draft pick to acquire him and immediately tabbed him as the Week 6 starter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

For the Bengals’ locker room and fan base, the trade signals urgency from the front office to salvage a season that slid after Burrow’s injury. For Flacco, it is a final audition to validate that he can still play at a high level.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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