Bengals sign new quarterback in blockbuster trade amid disastrous start to the season and Joe Burrow injury woes
The Cincinnati Bengals have acquired quarterback Joe Flacco from the rival Cleveland Browns.
Flacco will be heading south on I-71 to the needy Bengals who stand at the crossroads of their season being salvaged or scrapped.
The trade will see a fifth-round pick being sent to Cleveland while Flacco and a sixth-round pick move to Cincinnati.
It’s a shocking move considering Flacco’s history against the Bengals, his horrific performance to start the season, and how desperate Cincinnati is to get their season back on the right track.
Over the summer, the Bengals spent $41.75million on free agents. They also handed out $305million worth of extensions to pass rusher Trey Hendrickson and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Yet, their offensive line which has given fans fits for years continued to fail to protect superstar quarterback Joe Burrow, who will miss nearly all of the season due to an injury.
The Cincinnati Bengals have acquired Joe Flacco and a sixth-round pick for a fifth-round pick
Cincinnati was desperate to make a move after struggling in the absence of injured Joe Burrow
In his stead, Jake Browning has not been much of an improvement after a summer of spending
After four games of sub-par performances from backup quarterback Jake Browning, the Bengals are acquiring the 41-year-old Flacco – who has a worse QBR and a worse TD-INT ratio than Browning.
Deputizing for Burrow, Browning has a QBR of 35.3, completed 64.5 percent of his passes, and tossed for six touchdowns and eight interceptions.
On the other hand, Flacco has thrown for 815 yards – but has six interceptions, a worse QBR (27.6) and fewer touchdowns (two).
Flacco’s best game of the season so far was his start against, ironically, Cincinnati. But even then, despite tossing for 290 yards, he managed just one touchdown while coughing up two interceptions in a 17-16 loss.
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