Joe Flacco, the gutty veteran who filled in for Joe Burrow last year with some of the most memorable moments in franchise history, relied on his gut to return to Paycor Stadium Wednesday as the NFL's most accomplished backup quarterback.

"I love the building," said Flacco before he inked the deal for his 19^th NFL season. "I enjoyed being there, and I'm excited about being back with the fellas."

Extending his record to the oldest Bengal ever at 41, it may not have been the way he drew it up. But Flacco, 14th on the all-time passing yards list and just 1,824 shy of 50,000, has excelled at finding the best options.

"I don't know what Plan A was. It's tough to kind of say exactly what that looked like, so you kind of just have to go with the flow a little bit," said Flacco, who was looking to start but didn't see the right fit in free agency. "I have good feelings there. The hardest thing for me is probably coming to grips with the fact that I might not play.

"I felt like I had to be careful with some certain decisions. I don't want to be in another situation where I'm going and playing four games like I did last year in Cleveland. I was a little bit nervous about that for whatever reason, and kind of getting thrown under the bus. I think there was a time to be that guy, but I don't know if I was willing to do that. It just felt right in the gut."

It certainly hit Bengals coach Zac Taylor in a sweet spot. He has coveted Flacco ever since he strapped it up despite an injured throwing shoulder during his six starts for him last season. In the first two weeks of free agency, the Bengals kept Flacco figured into the equation.

"To a certain extent. I think you have to (use the gut to decide)." There are reasons you feel those things. I think when you do go with some of those feelings, you're more likely to be happy with how things turn out, no matter what," Flacco said. "As opposed to when you go against it, there's a possibility of working out well. But if it doesn't happen exactly as you maybe envision the best-case scenario, then you might be kicking yourself. Like saying, 'You know what? I had a gut feeling, and I went against it.' I think when you go with it, you have a way easier time living with certain things."

Flacco, a long-time Bengals nemesis during his 11 seasons in Baltimore that included a Super Bowl MVP, emerged as a popular figure in the locker room and a fan favorite outside of it with his everyman professionalism after he landed as a Bengal on Oct. 7 following the first trade ever between Paul Brown’s teams in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Flacco kept making history until Burrow returned Thanksgiving Night. His career-high 470 yards against the Bears at Paycor Stadium on Nov. 2 was the NFL's biggest game of the season as he fought through a shoulder injury from the week before. His 342 yards in a Thursday night win over Pittsburgh was the biggest passing day at Paycor against the Steelers in 24 years while servicing Ja’Marr Chase’s club-record 16 catches.

And, according to Elias, it's the first time in the 57 seasons of the merger that two quarterbacks on the same team in the Pro Bowl are on the same team at the start of the following season.

In the span of his six Bengals starts, he threw for the NFL's third-most touchdown passes, behind Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye, and tied with Dak Prescott, and threw for the fifth-most yards.

So for good reasons, Flacco believes he can still play. Yet for the first time in his career, he has signed on to back up an established veteran quarterback. The reasons are plenty. You could probably start with Burrow, move to Chase and Tee Higgins, and then to Taylor, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher and quarterbacks coach Brad Kragthorpe.

"When you look at a backup position, it was a little bit of everything. Coaches, players, specifically receivers, but not just them," Flacco said. "I had such a good time with everybody on the team. Plus, Zac and Brad and Pitch. Those guys were all positive thoughts when I was thinking about going back. It's not just one thing, as always. It was the overall experience and the overall building."

Flacco is also reunited with Josh Johnson, a fellow quarterback in the Baltimore offseason of 2015 and the Jets season of 2022 after Johnson signed last week. Johnson, who turns 40 May 15, doesn't appear to be immediately impacted by the Flacco deal.

"Oldest room in the league," Flacco said.

Old enough to offer wisdom from Super Bowl past.

"I think the thing that will best suit this team is to have that big picture and that ultimate goal," Flacco said. "But, ultimately, what I think will suit us best is narrowing our focus a little bit to more individual parts of the season."