Joe Flacco contract makes Bengals' uneven free agency less flummoxing

Even though it feels like a bit of a duplicitous, double-middle-fingers victory lap by the Cincinnati Bengals front office, at least they have a viable backup quarterback in 2026 after re-signing Joe Flacco.

Why am I so compelled to backhanded compliment the Bengals' brass even when they do something right? Because you can't be a bigger gaggle of idiots than to front-load contracts to such a ridiculous magnitude whilst the salary cap skyrockets every single year. In doing so, you present a threadbare mirage of going "all-in" for a Super Bowl, when in reality, you're 100% avoidably holding yourself back.

But hey, Bengals gonna Bengal. And Flacco, who turned 41 in January, is Cincinnati's dream client. Mike Brown, the Blackburns, and Duke Tobin can defend shelling out significant money for a quadragenarian quarterback on a number of fronts. We'll get into it soon.

For the record: I'm jazzed that Joe Cool is back to back up Joe Shiesty. Beats counting on Josh Johnson in the event that the football gods crop dust Cincinnati with odious/odorous misfortune once again and fix their supernatural demon hounds on Burrow's inner competitive dawg.

OK anyway. Interesting introduction there.

New Bengals Joe Flacco contract is steep, but he's worth hefty QB2 price tag

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that Flacco's one-year deal is worth $6 million, but up to $9 million with incentives.

Flacco's arm was figuratively falling off last season when he threw for 470 yards and four TDs in a 47-42 loss to the Chicago Bears. In that electrifying performance and whenever he was healthy, the wily gunslinger proved he can still indeed spin that rock with the best of 'em.

Helps to have the likes of Ja'Marr Chase And Tee Higgins to throw to, and Flacco was effusive in his praise of Cincinnati's dynamic duo from the moment he arrived.

Anyway, time to stop fixating on the glory days of a six-win season. The 2026 campaign is as important as any in recent Bengals history. Having Flacco in the fold is great not just because he can play well, but also because he's another set of experienced eyes/a de facto assistant coach who Burrow can bounce ideas off of.

Low-balling nickelback Jalen Davis and right guard Dalton Risner while still getting them to re-sign looks a tad better now that we know what it took for Cincinnati to retain Flacco. But again, the front-loaded contract thing. You just can't convince me or anyone with a critical thought in their brain that that's a logical approach.

Whatever. Again, Bengals gonna Bengal.

The bottom line is, Flacco came aboard via an in-season trade with the Browns last year when it was clear Jake Browning was in over his head, self-admittedly trying to play hero ball. Due to how well Flacco played, and the fact that Tobin could hang his hat on getting him from an AFC North rival for peanuts, the Bengals weren't going to spare any expense to keep Flacco around.

To the coaching staff's credit, especially Zac Taylor, they got Flacco ready to roll on days' notice to make his first start at Lambeau Field in a Bengals uniform. The very next week, he was dunking 342 yards and three TDs on the Steelers' heads in a 33-31 triumph.

Taylor and Co. had to create a great environment to convince Flacco to stay. He might've had a chance to start elsewhere. Apparently the free-agent market dried up on that front, and between the good vibes of 2025 and the lucrative backup contract offer, Flacco couldn't resist staying in the end.

It's great to know Flacco can play with pretty much no heads-up. I'm beyond sick of seeing Burrow get hurt, but there is precedent for it.

Still, by retaining Flacco, Cincinnati can maintain the mantra preached by legendary offensive mind Tom Moore. His experience with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts entailed the backup QBs getting no practice reps. Why was that? Well...

"If 18 goes down, we're f—[earmuffs]. Around here, we don't practice [earmuffs]."

Just substitute "9" for "18", or simply divide by two if you're nasty. And as if this needs any clarification, by "9", I do not mean J.J. McCarthy. I mean Joe Burrow.

This is a win for Flacco and a win for the Bengals. Good for everyone involved. I can dig an expensive investment at the most important position on the field. That's why this exorbitant short-term price tag is a little more palatable than, say, Boye Mafe making almost double Jaelan Phillips in Year 1 despite having a contract that's worth $10 million less in average annual value..

I'm happy Flacco is back. I just hope the team doesn't EVERRRRRRRR need him on the field save for garbage time when the overhauled defense and the Burrow-led offense are destroying foes a few times this coming season.