Joe Flacco Takes Veiled Shot at Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons were in the quarterback market this offseason, and one long-time veteran appears to be miffed by the fact that he did not get the opportunity to come to Flowery Branch with the opportunity to start – or anywhere else, for that matter.

Joe Flacco, 41, recently re-signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on a $6 million deal (worth up to $9 million) this offseason. He was pretty blunt about his confidence that he could still be a starting quarterback in the NFL. According to Senior NFL News writer Kevin Patra, Flacco was not pleased with the apprehension of some teams to bring him in as a starter. 

“I think I can get caught up in all that and say, 'Why not me' and all that, and be bitter about it," Flacco said. "Listen, maybe part of that does motivate me to still do what I'm doing. I probably do feel that way. I feel like I have unfinished business. That's part of why I'm here and still playing and doing all those things. Not being one of those guys to go sign somewhere, yeah, it pisses me off a little bit. But at the same time, I'm very happy to be here. 

“I had a lot of fun with Joe, and Joe's the guy. And believe me, I wish I was the guy somewhere, and I think teams are dumb for not having me be that guy.”

Flacco was widely speculated to be a strong candidate to land with the Falcons in free agency, and the quarterback spoke highly of the new regime in Atlanta, but they instead went with Tua Tagovailoa. The marriage would have made sense, given the history between Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski and Flacco. 

In 2023, Flacco had been bouncing around the NFL before landing in Cleveland. With Stefanski, the quarterback was inserted into the starting lineup after an injury to Deshaun Watson. The veteran led the Browns to the playoffs, finishing 4-1 as a starter and throwing for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He won AP Comeback Player of the Year for that performance down the stretch, and Stefanski won the AP NFL Coach of the Year. 

They attempted to rekindle that spark last season with the Browns, but Flacco would struggle. He was eventually traded to the Bengals after just four games. Between the two franchises, he completed 60.3% of his passes for 2,479 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions over 10 games. His clubs went 2-8 in those starts.

After the speculation that they could reunite yet again, the Falcons will have Tagovailoa lead the franchise through the offseason. After that, the former Dolphins quarterback will compete with Michael Penix Jr. for the right to start games this fall. 

Penix is still recovering from the torn ACL that cost him the second half of the 2025 season, but is expected to return at some point this summer.