Former Super Bowl champion coach Bruce Arians agreed with Mike Tomlin’s comments on the Joe Flacco trade from the Cleveland Browns to the Cincinnati Bengals last week.
The Browns benched the veteran in favor of rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel ahead of the Week 5 duel against the Minnesota Vikings in London.
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Tomlin took shots at the Browns’ general manager, Andrew Berry, for trading a quarterback to a divisional rival ahead of the Steelers’ first duel with the Bengals in the 2025 NFL season.
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“Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us, because it doesn’t make sense to me to trade a quarterback that you think enough of to make your opening-day starter to a division opponent that’s hurting in that area,” Tomlin said. “But that’s just my personal feelings.”
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During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Arians agreed with Tomlin’s comments, questioning the Browns for helping a divisional rival that will be stronger with a player like Flacco under center.
“Total bulls***. What are you thinking?” Arians asked. “First of all Pittsburgh’s your big rival, Cincinnati is your next biggest rival… Why would you trade him to Cincinnati? If I’m gonna trade him, make it a sixth round pick for somewhere else, but I ain’t trading him within the division.
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“All of a sudden, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have 20 targets, Ja’Marr Chase has 10 receptions, almost 100 yards in one week, couldn’t get the damn ball to him the other three weeks, and now Pittsburgh’s gotta play him [Flacco] Thursday night.”
Flacco had a disappointing debut with the Bengals, although he threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers. Cincy only scored 18 points against a potential Super Bowl contender, with fans questioning whether favoring Flacco over Jake Browning was the right decision.
The Bengals will return to action on Thursday against Tomlin’s Steelers. This will be a good chance to see how impactful this move actually was for the Bengals.
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