Joe Flacco may have leaked spoiler on the team he'll ditch Bengals for

Hand up. As someone who just wrote about how Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco had one uber-obvious landing spot in free agency this offseason, I overlooked one other compelling destination.

Well, at least in that moment. A few other suitors caught my eye as a fly Flacco fits back in late November. Do people still say "fly" these days? Bringing it back. Kind of a tie-in to Flacco's OG team, the Ravens.

Flacco could theoretically complete the AFC North cycle if he goes to the Steelers, provided Aaron Rodgers retires as expected. But I think he has his eye on one place in particular, and it's one I wrote about in the second link above.

Bengals QB Joe Flacco praises new Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski on 'The Pat McAfee Show', hinting at potential reunion

Listen to what Joe Flacco had to say about his ex-Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski taking the reins with the Atlanta Falcons. Tell me that doesn't sound like a man looking to link back up.

Gee, speaking of fresh starts, Joe! How about tapping into some of that magic that helped you lead the Browns to the playoffs under Stefanski, as you so eloquently referenced in your Pat McAfee chat?

This would be pretty cool, not gonna lie. If Flacco has to go anywhere, Bengals fans would prefer it to be out of the AFC. The NFC South division is pretty lame. Carolina is just kinda there. Tampa Bay is teetering toward collapse and a huge reboot. New Orleans is still in the midst of a rebuild.

Why not take a shot at a gettable division if you're Joe Flacco, especially with a coach you've worked with twice before?

It still blows my mind that the Bengals beat the then-Browns QB Flacco and Stefanski in Week 1, started 2-0, lost Joe Burrow, traded for Flacco, and both Joes repped Cincinnati at the Pro Bowl.

Kirk Cousins is the obvious elephant in the room in Atlanta. While he does have a prior relationship with Stefanski from their shared time with the Vikings, Captain Kirk is a declining player with marginal arm strength. Flacco still has a cannon and costs a fraction of what Cousins does.

The Falcons can release Cousins with post-June 1 designation to go from $71 million in 2027 salary cap room to $149 million. Tight end Kyle Pitts is an obvious franchise tag candidate. Plus, Atlanta has the option to free up a bunch of cap space via restructures for vets like Jake Matthews, Chris Lindstrom, Jessie Bates, A.J. Terrell, Darnell Mooney, and Kaleb McGary.

All this provides enough room to retain captain Kaden Elliss at linebacker and Tyler Allgeier as Bijan Robinson's backup, even as the latter is in line for contract extension negotiations. That leaves plenty of money for the Falcons' new regime to focus on new deals for superstar wideout Drake London, guard Matthew Bergeron, and even linebacker Divine Deablo.

Sorry didn't mean to turn this into a mock GMing session for the Falcons. But my goodness, I salute Atlanta fans for enduring Terry Fontenot's reign of terror. At least y'all got James Pearce Jr. out of it.

Have I buried the lede too much here? Sorry again. Falcons president and retired NFL MVP Matt Ryan doesn't sound like a guy who 100% believes in 2024 first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. as the QB of the future, via ESPN's Marc Raimondi:

"I think as we start to get into this process and dive deeper into the roster -- how it currently stands, where it's going in the future -- I think those are conversations that'll be a part of it. [...] Quarterback's obviously very important, and we're excited about Mike and what he's doing with his rehab. [...] But certainly, a lot of discussions for us about the entire roster."

Dating back to 2018. Penix has had five season-ending injuries, including three ACL tears, which is what he's rehabbing from now. Even when he was playing, the big-armed southpaw was wildly inaccurate. Not really looking the part of a franchise quarterback.

In addition to reporting that Cousins is expected to be released, The Athletic's Josh Kendall shared the following data on Penix from his first two NFL seasons. It ain't pretty:

"Among quarterbacks with more than 200 attempts in the last two seasons, [Penix] is 24th in EPA per dropback (0.03), 29th in passing yards per game (196.9), 35th in passer rating (85.8), 45th in off-target rate (13.9 percent) and 46th in completion percentage (59.6)."

So rather than giving up on Penix entirely, or going full Kirk Cousins 2.0 and paying a free agent big money, Atlanta can split the difference by signing Flacco to a cheap deal; using him as a bridge starter.

Few better vets for Penix to learn form and pick up a new offense than Flacco, who has similar arm talent, familiarity with Stefanski's system, and a wealth of experience for the youngster to pull from.