The Cincinnati Bengals appeased all the talking heads who had been calling for them to trade for a quarterback for weeks ever since Joe Burrow went down with turf toe, opting to bring in veteran Joe Flacco in a deal with their AFC North rival Cleveland Browns.
Despite being acquired on Tuesday, the Bengals have already announced that he will be the starter in place of Jake Browning when Cincinnati takes on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in an effort to put an end to a three-game losing skid since Burrow got hurt.
Packers safety Xavier McKinney said on Wednesday that he has a lot of respect for Flacco, as well as Cincinnati’s pair of talented receivers, as shared in a clip from insider Dominique Yates.
“If I’m the quarterback, I’m just throwing it, I don’t give a damn. I believe they’re going to catch the ball. Obviously, Joe Flacco is a really good quarterback that has played a really long time, so having that and then combining it with guys that are top of the league right now, I’m sure it will change up some things for them schematically.”
The #Packers defense will face Joe Flacco – again.
Xavier McKinney has respect for the veteran QB and the duo of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
"If I'm the QB, I'm just throwing it. I don't give a damn. I believe they're going to catch the ball." pic.twitter.com/mjervqzkre
— Dominique Yates (@RealDYates) October 8, 2025
Flacco had eight turnovers in his first four games as a starter for the Browns before being benched in favor of Dillon Gabriel, and ultimately traded to a QB-needy team in the Bengals.
In what could be his last chance as a starter in this league, he’ll have a pair of incredible weapons to work with in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, which is a big step up from when he started for the Browns in a Week 3 upset over the Packers.
It’s not often a defense gets two looks at one quarterback with two different teams over the course of a month, but it will be interesting to see if this Packers defense can limit him to 142 yards and a pick like they did in Week 3.
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