Mike Tomlin is mystified that one of his division rivals traded a starting quarterback to another AFC North team.
As the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, they’ll do so knowing they’ll be matching wits with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco. The 40-year-old Flacco was the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback for the first four weeks of this season but was traded last week to the Bengals in exchange for a mere swap of late-round draft picks.
Tomlin can’t figure out why Browns general manager Andrew Berry would have made such a move.
“To be honest, it was shocking to me,” Tomlin said Monday during his weekly news conference. “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 make your opening-day starter to a division opponent that’s hurting in that area.
“But that’s just my personal feelings.”
Mike Tomlin: “Andrew Berry must be much smarter than me.”
Is mystified the Browns traded their Wk1 starting QB to a division rival in-season pic.twitter.com/Bc9aFJa8No
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) October 13, 2025
The Steelers beat the Browns — led by rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick making his second career start — on Sunday, 23-9.
The Bengals lost in Flacco’s debut with the team, 27-18, at the Green Bay Packers. Flacco went 29 for 45 for 219 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the defeat.
The longtime starter for yet another AFC North team, the Baltimore Ravens, Flacco is 11-11 with a 85.4 passer rating in 22 career regular-season games against the Steelers.
