According to multiple reports Tuesday, Joe Flacco is coming back for his 19th NFL season as Joe Burrow’s backup quarterback in Cincinnati.
After arriving last midseason via the first trade ever between the Bengals and Browns, Flacco turned in some of the most memorable performances in club history when he replaced the injured Burrow, and both ended up playing in the Pro Bowl. 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.
Flacco, 41, a long-time Bengals nemesis during his 11 seasons in Baltimore, emerged as a popular figure in the locker room and a fan favorite outside of it with his everyman professionalism.
In the span of his six Bengals starts, he threw 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. 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.
"Flacco, he could barely lift his arm this week, and he's willing to go put himself out there for a bunch of teammates he's known for three weeks," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor after the Bears game. "He's a football player. That's what he got up here and said: 'I play football for a living. That's what I do.'
"And oftentimes, you need that throughout the locker room: Guys who are just football players and they remember that and they'll go out there and do whatever it takes to help their team to win a game, no matter what, no matter the circumstances."
Flacco also outdueled the Steelers' Aaron Rodgers with 342 yards in a 33-31 Thursday night win at Paycor Stadium nine days after the Oct. 7 trade.
As he went into the offseason, Flacco indicated if he couldn't find a starting job, he'd return to Cincinnati and a coaching staff and locker room that has mutual regard. When Kyler Murray ended up in Minnesota, Malik Willis in Miami, and Tua Tagovailoa in Atlanta, the options dwindled.
Flacco takes his No. 2 place here retaining his title as the Bengals' oldest player ever in front of No. 3 Josh Johnson, just signed to a one-year deal Sunday two months before he turns 40. They were teammates in the Baltimore offseason of 2015, as well as briefly with the Jets during the 2021 season.
"No surprise to me when Joe balled out," said Johnson of Flacco's run last year. "No surprise at all."
Flacco is 14th on the all-time passing yards list, just 1,824 shy of 50,000 yards, and he's 21st on the all-time touchdown passes list, one back of Joe Montana's 273.
But the numbers didn't seem to matter when he talked about it late last season.
"Go into my 19th year. It's what I do man," Flacco said. "I'm a football player. Keep it going."
View some of the top shots of QB Joe Flacco in 2025.
QB Joe Flacco runs the football during Week 8 against the New York Jets, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025
QB Joe Flacco during practice at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco drops back to pass during Thursday Night Football during Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco looks to throw during Week 8 against the New York Jets, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025
QB Joe Flacco warms up ahead of Thursday Night Football Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco runs onto the field ahead of Week 9 against the Chicago Bears at Paycor Stadium, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco throws the ball during practice at Paycor Stadium, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco looks to throw during Week 9 against the Chicago Bears at Paycor Stadium, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco throws the ball during Week 6 against the Packers in Green Bay, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025.
WR Tee Higgins and QB Joe Flacco during Week 9 against the Chicago Bears at Paycor Stadium, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5), far left, is congratulated by quarterback Joe Flacco, center, and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1), right, after scoring a touchdown during an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
QB Joe Flacco throws the ball during Week 9 against the Chicago Bears at Paycor Stadium, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco ahead of Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco, WR Ja'Marr Chase and Bengals legend Andrew Whitworth talk after Thursday night Football Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco throws a pass during Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco ahead of Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco before a snap during Week 11 against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco throws a pass during Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco takes a snap during Week 11 against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco and WR Tee Higgins celebrate a touchdown during Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco celebrates a touchdown during Week 9 against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco sneaks in a touchdown during Week 8 against the New York Jets, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025
QB Joe Flacco ahead of Week 11 against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025.
QB Joe Flacco looks to pass while C Ted Karras blocks during Week 12 against the New England Patriots at Paycor Stadium, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.
QBs Joe Flacco and Joe Burrow during practice at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.
