Why the Joe Flacco trade makes sense for Browns and Bengals

It's not often division rivals help each other out, but that's exactly what happened when the Cleveland Browns traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Going from one Ohio team to another, Flacco will now suit up for the third AFC North team of his career in an effort to do for the Bengals what he once did for the Browns — help them reach the playoffs. And based on the current circumstances of each team, this is a trade that makes sense for both sides. 

Browns have no use for Flacco 

First off, the Browns no longer have any use for Flacco. After, controversially for some, deciding to open the season with Flacco as their starting quarterback, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski decided to bench the 40-year-old Super Bowl champion in favor of turning to Dillon Gabriel, one of his two rookies hungry for an opportunity. 

Turning to Gabriel, who threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-17 loss to the Vikings, officially signaled what most expected to eventually happen — Cleveland is trying to figure out if either of the quarterbacks on its roster can lead the franchise into the future. If not, it will then go back into the draft and select another one (or maybe two again) and hand the keys to the next guy. 

Even though Flacco was once a hero in Cleveland — he led the Browns to a 4-1 record and a playoff appearance after a trade from the New York Jets in 2023, most realized he didn't seem to have enough left in the tank to warrant delaying an evaluation of either Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders. Flacco went 1-3 in his four 2025 starts for the Browns, completing only 58.1% of his passes for 815 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions. 

Why deal him to the Bengals of all teams? 

Once Cleveland realized it needed to play the rookies, trading Flacco made much more sense than just storing him on the bench all year. And while some may argue the Browns should've avoided working with a division rival at all costs, there's no team more desperate for someone like Flacco than the Bengals. 

Cincinnati entered the season dreaming of making another Super Bowl run with Joe Burrow under center. Unfortunately, Burrow got hurt and recently had surgery for a severe case of turf toe. 

The Bengals are holding out hope that Burrow can return towards the end of the season — the timetable for recovery is usually around three months. However, Cincinnati can't afford to just sit and around with only that hope. After watching Jake Browning struggle in four games, including three straight losses, the Bengals had to act before they fell too far out of the playoff race. Browning has thrown eight picks, with five coming in the last two games combined. 

Now with Flacco, Cincinnati has a quarterback who has been there and done it before. It's possible Flacco has nothing left, but it's also possible he could, at the very least, manage games and get the ball to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. 

Giving it a shot with Flacco is more than worth a fifth-round pick for the Bengals and gaining a late-round draft pick is more than enough compensation for an aging player the Browns no longer had plans to use.