Bengals receive Joe Flacco trade projection that makes a deal intriguing

Bengals receive Joe Flacco trade projection that makes a deal intriguing originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Cincinnati Bengals are heading into the 2026 NFL season with some renewed confidence in their team being able to contend for a Super Bowl.

But, regardless of whether this team is contending or not, they should have the phone lines open for a few of their veteran players in case of a trade. One of those is backup quarterback Joe Flacco.

And with the Bengals receiving a trade projection from Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton on Flacco, a potential deal at such an evaluation would be very intriguing.

Joe Flacco projected trade value should intrigue Bengals

“Last year, the Browns traded Flacco to the Bengals for a sixth-round pick,” Moton writes. “Cincinnati may be able to get multiple late-round picks from a desperate playoff-contending club. Estimated trade value: 2027 fifth-round pick, 2028 fifth-round pick.”

After Joe Burrow got hurt last season, the Bengals traded a sixth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns to add Flacco as a stopgap. He thrived, and Flacco proved he still is a solid QB in the NFL despite being 41 years old.

But the question then becomes, why should the Bengals even trade Flacco? Burrow’s injury history suggests Cincinnati should have a good backup QB option, and Flacco is a fan favorite and would be a great one for this team. So, why trade him away?

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Well, if the Bengals could get back this kind of value projected by Moton, then they should seriously consider a trade. Adding two fifth-round picks is not an insignificant return in a trade.

While yes, the Bengals would turn to a worse back QB option, they could trade less than this value for someone like Tanner McKee, or trust in longtime veteran QB Josh Johnson to be a decent backup if needed.

Trading Flacco might not make sense when initially looking at it, but if the Bengals could get the kind of return Moton is projecting, a trade would be a lot more intriguing and hard to turn down than if it were simply one late-round pick.

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