Bengals' Joe Flacco trade hints at 3 much bigger moves coming

Did not have "Joe Flacco will be the Cincinnati Bengals' starting quarterback by midseason" on my bingo card at the dawn of the 2025 NFL season, but here we are.

A mere month after Flacco suited up for the Browns in their season-opening 17-16 loss to the Bengals in Cleveland, he finds himself rocking the Orange and Black as Cincinnati's imminent QB1. Few things shock me in sports anymore, but a Browns-Bengals trade revolving around Joe Flacco did.

Methinks the Bengals think they can be frisky until Joe Burrow returns from injury in December, or at least that's the optimistic timeline as of now. The NFL trade deadline isn't until November 4, and there are a few other moves I'd love to see Duke Tobin and Co. make whilst swinging for the fences.

Shout out Gridiron Grading.

Trade or waive 2024 third-round picks Jermaine Burton and McKinnley Jackson

While we're at the task of employing serious individuals on a 53-man NFL roster, why shouldn't the Bengals part ways with their failed second-year, Day 2 draftees?

Wide receiver Jermaine Burton hasn't been active for a single game all year. Defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson saw approx. 11 other dudes get signed at his position from the offseason through even this past week.

Pride is the only thing stopping Cincinnati from waiving Burton and/or Jackson. I'd love to, you know, not waste a roster spot on either of them at this point. They're total non-factors.

If the Flacco trade is indeed a sign the Bengals' brain trust is serious about competing in 2025, why not cut your losses with these two draft duds in favor of alternatives who can actually help that cause?

Cut loose trench starters Ted Karras and Joseph Ossai

Flacco's arrival symbolizes a perfect pivot point/watershed moment for Cincinnati's awful offensive line. Yes, I know starting center Ted Karras signed an extension not long ago that runs through 2026. The reality is, he's looked awful through five games.

Any edge Karras has as a seasoned vet with a high football IQ is largely offset by poor-by-NFL-standards athleticism and being light in the rear as a run blocker. The Bengals happen to have a couple young, promising centers in Karras' backup Matt Lee and Seth McLaughlin on the practice squad who are far more athletic.

Whatever downgrade Cincinnati would get sans Karras as far as identifying fronts and tweaking protection calls, the 40-year-old Flacco could make up for. The New Joe needs to be kept upright at all costs. Plus, his presence can expedite Lee's development as a starter, and Karras' departure would make way for McLaughlin to compete on the active roster.

People are clamoring from Lee. I'm not alone.

As for Joseph Ossai, good lord. Poor guy. I call him Waiting for Godot because he never arrives. The Bengals thought he could hold it down as a starter this year. Apparent first-round draft bust Myles Murphy has outplayed him, and rookie first-rounder Shemar Stewart will be back from injury any game now.

It's time to end the Ossai experiment. We know what he is, and what he is is a guy who zero souls on Planet Earth are surprised to find out ranks 97th among 109 qualifying edge defenders in PFF grading.

Say it with me now, Who Dey Heads, if only because it rhymes: Goodbye, Ossai.

Trade a 1st-round pick or more for Jeffery Simmons or Quinnen Williams

Releasing Karras and Ossai in particular opens up enough money, per OverTheCap.com, to chase down one of these two superstars.

Haters will say, "The Titans and Jets would never trade Jeffery Simmons or Quinnen Williams!" No? Tennessee was a couple boneheaded fumbles from being 0-5 this last Sunday, and big surprise, Gang Green is the only remaining winless team with Justin Fields as QB1!

The long and short of it is, the Titans aren't one or two players away from achieving greatness. Nor are the Jets. Both Simmons and Williams are effectively free agents in 2028, and their price tags aren't super prohibitive so as to put Cincinnati off from a prospective franchise-altering trade.

Ex-Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan is the head coach in Nashville. Might as well tap into that connection before he likely gets fired. Callahan has a good chance to come back to Cincy if Zac Taylor doesn't get canned after the 2025 campaign.

What a dope move it'd be for Callahan to convince the Titans they need premium draft capital, and trading Simmons is their best way to gain it.

As for the Jets, well, is it really a hard sell to convince Williams to get out of there?

So why Simmons or Williams in the first place? Well, look at McKinnley Jackson. Or his draft classmate, second-round pick Kris Jenkins Jr. The Bengals have spent high picks at defensive tackle. Nobody memorable in recent history. Far from it.

I'm tired of Cincinnati's league-smallest scouting department whiffing on all these top picks. It's time to change the culture and organizational philosophy. Think more Les Snead than Billy Beane.

Plus, the future of the Bengals' defensive line is a huge question mark, since Trey Hendrickson has annual offseason contract drama.

Rather than living on the prayer that TJ Slaton (???) can metamorphose into some elite run stopper all of a sudden, why not trade for Quinnen Williams, PFF's No. 1-graded interior d-line run defender?

Rather than hoping against hope that Hendrickson will want to stick around beyond 2025 to keep the Bengals' pass rush from being a genuine embarrassment, why not trade for a dynamo like Simmons, whose 90.8 pass rush grade through Week 5 eclipses that of Hendrickson's with similarly-near-zero help around him?

My body is ready for a radical move like this. All of Who Dey Nation would be celebrating in the streets. Because combining the Flacco acquisition with transactions such as all the ones I've expounded upon herein would prove the Bengals do indeed care about winning.

Such a pipe dream, all of it. But a man can dream, right? Now excuse me while I go fantasize about how I would play mock GM, years removed from my proposed Penei Sewell-Ja'Marr Chase 2021 NFL Draft double dip that would've delivered a Super Bowl to Cincinnati. I don't know, maybe they should listen to me. Just a thought.

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