The quarterback situation in the AFC North has been an abysmal watch. The Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals saw their MVP-caliber superstars in Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, go down with significant injuries. The Cleveland Browns never got off the ground running after their mad scramble in the light of Deshaun Watson’s injury did not net them a true difference maker at the position. Suddenly, Aaron Rodgers was the pillar of stability in the division.
The Browns gave Joe Flacco the starting job, but his tenure lasted just four weeks, after which he was benched in favor of third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel. Just a week later, though, Cleveland made a shocking decision to trade him to a divisional rival in the Bengals, who could not sustain any offensive production with backup Jake Browning. After his first game on his new roster, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin took a thinly-veiled shot at the Browns for the move.
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Did the Browns Make a Mistake Trading Joe Flacco to the Bengals?
After Burrow went down with a Grade 3 turf toe injury, Cincinnati gave the starting role to Browning, who had previously done an admirable job in 2023. However, this time around, luck wasn’t on his side.
Ranking dead last on PFSN’s QB Impact, the Bengals’ offense had two consecutive finishes as the 31st unit that week. Numbers were down across the board, with the team scoring 13 total points in Weeks 3 and 4.
As a result, when the Browns parted ways with Flacco to send him to Cincy, it seemed like an unbelievable boon to his new team. While not far ahead on QBi, Flacco’s grade (56.8) was markedly better than Browning’s (50.6).
In his first game with the new squad, with less than a full week to prepare and get acclimated to the offense, Flacco was able to score 18 on the Green Bay Packers, throwing for 219 yards and two touchdowns, with Ja’Marr Chase going for 94 yards.
Even though it did not result in a victory, the game was in stark contrast to their outings under Browning. As a result, Tomlin, whose Steelers face the Bengals in Week 7, was less than thrilled with the move.
As Brooke Pryor reported his comments, Tomlin had some harsh words for Cleveland’s general manager, “It was shocking to me. 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 be a day 1 starter to a divisional opponent.”
At 4-1, it seemed like Pittsburgh had a clear path to the one-seed in the usually brutal AFC North. But the move had made his path at least marginally tougher. It’ll be interesting to see how they fare when the two sides face off in Week 7.
