The candor, the IQ and the experience that make Joe Flacco so beloved in the building at Paycor Stadium were all on display during his press conference on Wednesday. After re-signing with the Bengals to back up Joe Burrow, Flacco acknowledged the surprise about how his offseason played out.
“Believe me, I wish I was a (starter) somewhere,” Flacco said. “I think teams are dumb for not having me be that guy. But it is what it is. I’m not going to let it get me down.”
Flacco revealed a lot of conversations that he had as he weighed his options in free agency. He spoke with Zac Taylor, who discussed with Flacco the pros and cons of signing a deal in March versus waiting out the market to see if a starting opportunity popped up.
Flacco talked with his wife about figuring out what they wanted. Flacco described her saying, “ It sounds like (the Bengals) really want you back. It is a pretty good thing.”
This was the first time that Flacco’s kids were old enough to participate in the free agent discussions. They had lots of takes.
Flacco described them saying, “What are you asking for? You should go here. You should get this much. You’re asking for too much, actually. You don’t need that.”
In the end, Flacco returned to Cincinnati. According to ESPN, the deal is for $6 million, but could be worth up to $9 million with incentives.
The quarterback carousel had a lot of movement this spring. Geno Smith is now on the Jets, Daniel Jones returned to the Colts, Kyler Murray is on the Vikings, Tua Tagovailoa is on the Falcons and the Cardinals are having Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew compete for a spot. The Chiefs acquired Justin Fields, who will run the show until Patrick Mahomes is healthy.
There were a few open seats left at the table. The Browns and Steelers need a QB, the Colts may need some help until Jones is healthy again and the Raiders might add a veteran bridge QB to help Fernando Mendoza along.
“I was hoping I’d have multiple options and would have to make a really big decision,” Flacco said. ‘That kind of came up at some point in this offseason. Can I do this or that? There was a piece of me going into the offseason that was willing to go home and sit around. As the offseason went on, I do want to go somewhere and compete and start. But if the situation isn’t exactly how I want it and I don’t truly feel good about that situation, I did start to feel good about the possibilities of coming back here.”
You can’t understate how well-respected Flacco is in the Bengals’ organization. The best way to describe it is the price tag — the $6 million tells you what they think of him. He’s an all-time favorite of several coaches.
There’s a tradeoff for the Bengals investing as much in their backup quarterback as they have in recent memory. Flacco is a lot more accomplished and more expensive than recent backup QBs like Jake Browning, Brandon Allen, Jeff Driskel, AJ McCarron, Jason Campbell, Josh Johnson (in 2013) and Bruce Gradkowski.
Flacco is not a defensive tackle, linebacker or cornerback.
The Bengals still need a starting slot corner, have gone down the road of rolling with Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight at linebacker and have alarming, concerning depth at offensive tackle, edge rusher, outside corner and safety. And it also wouldn’t hurt to add depth at receiver, tight end, offensive guard and defensive tackle as well as a special teams ace.
Considering Burrow’s injury history, I don’t have a huge issue with the Bengals spending $6 million on Flacco and made him the 12th-highest player on the team (ahead of Ted Karras and Dalton Risner). My question is why the contracts for Bryan Cook and Boye Mafe were structured with big Year 1 cap hits, which seems to limit the Bengals’ flexibility to add more starting-caliber players onto this year’s roster.
The Bengals should be adding more Flaccos — the equivalent style of player at positions of need. More veterans like 2025 Dalton Risner, 2024 Trent Brown or 2022 La’el Collins, all veterans who signed low-risk contracts and helped at position of need (this year, the Bengals would need defensive players who fit that mold). The 2026 Bengals’ depth on defense can’t be as inexperienced as it has been recently.
Flacco got what he’s worth as a top-35 QB (at least, he could definitely be in the 25 range). The money had to have made it clear to Flacco how much the Bengals wanted him back. Even though Flacco will be a backup, the money will make the experience more than worth his time.
The Bengals are paying a premium to avoid the disaster they faced last year when it was Week 5 and the team had no viable option on the roster to play quarterback. They don’t want to have to do the Flacco trade again, so they paid money up front to have that peace of mind.
Flacco is in an interesting position. The 41-year-old is planning to keep playing. But if everything goes right and Burrow stays healthy, Flacco won’t see the field this year.
“I’m not looking at this as the end,” Flacco said. “Maybe it is. I’m not looking at it that way. That makes it a little bit easier to be somewhere where I really feel comfortable and try to help out any way I can.”
_Copyright 2026 WXIX. All rights reserved._