Browns trade Joe Flacco to division rival Bengals

Joe Flacco started for the Browns against the Cincinnati Bengals in the season opener. Now, he could be starting for the Bengals sooner rather than later.

The Browns are sending Flacco, their former starting quarterback, and a sixth-round pick to their in-state AFC North rivals in Cincinnati in exchange for a fifth-round pick, a source confirmed to the Beacon Journal. The sixth-round pick originally belonged to the Detroit Lions but was sent to the Browns in the Za’Darius Smith trade.

NFL Network was the first to report the deal.

The move is the first trade between the Browns and Bengals organizations since the infamous A.J. McCarron deal fell through in 2017 because the Browns failed to file the necessary paperwork in time with the NFL. The Bengals famously were started in 1967 by Paul Brown, the Hall of Fame coach who had been fired by Browns owner Art Modell in 1962.

More important to the Browns’ present, and their future, is what this does to their quarterback room. The only two quarterbacks currently on the active roster are rookies: third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders.

"Why would you send a quarterback to a division rival right now who could actually put the ball in the hands of your playmakers?" @AKinkhabwala says her mind is blown after the Bengals trade for QB Joe Flacco ???? pic.twitter.com/RSY3GxAGiP

— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) October 7, 2025

Sanders was No. 3 on the quarterback depth chart through the first five games. That included when Gabriel replaced Flacco as the starter for the Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London

Bailey Zappe, a fourth-year pro, is currently on the practice squad. There’s a distinct chance he will be signed to the active roster to replace Flacco, and could be the backup when the Browns travel to Pittsburgh on Sunday to face the Steelers.

Deshaun Watson remains on the physically unable to perform list as he returned from multiple Achilles surgeries. Coach Kevin Stefanski has said the last two weeks the Browns aren’t ready to open up his window for return to practice, which is the first step toward him returning to the active roster.

At the time of his benching after the Week 4 loss to the Detroit Lions, Flacco ranked second in attempts (160) and fourth in completions (93) among quarterbacks in the league, but 30th in completion percentage (58.1%) and 19th in yards (815). His 60.3 passer rating is currently 32nd among eligible passers.

Flacco’s six interceptions are behind only two quarterbacks: Las Vegas Raiders’ Geno Smith (nine) and the Bengals’ Jake Browning (eight). Browning replaced Joe Burrow when Burrow suffered a toe injury in Cincinnati’s Week 2 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Bengals have been beaten by double figures in all three games Browning has started since Burrow’s injury. Cincinnati waived quarterback Mike White off the practice squad earlier Oct. 7, leaving Browning and Brett Rypien as the only healthy quarterbacks on the active roster without Flacco.

The trade means Flacco will have played for three of the four AFC North teams. The 40-year-old and 18-year veteran spent the first 11 years of his career with the Baltimore Ravens, where he was the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player in their Super Bowl 47 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Flacco has a chance to become the second quarterback to start for both the Browns and the Bengals, joining Jeff Driskel. He will become the first to start for the Browns, Bengals and Ravens should he do so.