The 2025 Cincinnati Bengals have had issues with consistency this year. The defense has caused them issues all season, and the offense has had its fair share of problems since Joe Burrow got injured early on in the year and has been out ever since. Jake Browning and Joe Flacco were the two quarterbacks who have split snaps since Burrow's injury, and Flacco has played well in his place since being traded.
Flacco started the year with the Browns and struggled, but he has since emerged as a solid option with the Bengals. Flacco injured his right shoulder and has been nursing the injury over Cincinnati's bye week. However, Cincinnati Bengals writer Paul Dehner Jr. for “The Athletic” reported that he returned in a limited fashion in practice after being on the same workload as Joe Burrow after being activated off Injured Reserve.
This season, Flacco has thrown for 2,069 yards (258.6 per game), completing 61.6% of his passes, with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Since Burrow is back at practice, the clock is ticking on Flacco's time as the starter. Burrow is going to be eased back into the rotation and not rushed, but it's still his job the minute he's ready.
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Still, Flacco isn't wasting time pondering what his future might look like in December.
“I don't know, I think backups probably do it a good amount where they know like, ‘Hey, this guy's coming back, he's got a three-week injury or whatever it is,'”
Flacco said, via The Cincinnati Enquirer. “I'm honestly not really thinking about it. It's not really a part of my process. I really don't care. It's this week, and that's all that matters. And I think to think about that stuff would just be a distraction. So it's not really something I'm worried about.
“Like I said, I'm just worried about doing my job, and this week that's going out and playing against Pittsburgh.”
That thinking is precisely what you want from a 40-year-old veteran quarterback. The Bengals are preparing for a massive divisional game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it appears he should be available for that game.