Joe Burrow is the most popular athlete in Cincinnati. Joe Flacco may be the most important backup quarterback in the NFL.
Given Burrow’s injury history, Flacco holds a lot of importance and value to this year’s Bengals team. This is going to be Flacco’s 19th season in the NFL, a career that started in 2008.
The MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, Flacco earned his first Pro Bowl berth last season. Flacco threw for 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions in six starts last season, including a career-high 472
yards in Week 9 against the Chicago Bears.
Sports Illustrated’s Gilbert Manzano recently ranked all 32 backup quarterbacks in the NFL and put the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Flacco in the No. 1 spot. That’s a high compliment for a player getting the most out of the twilight of his career.
Here is what Manzano says about the quarterback the Bengals traded for in the middle of the season last year:
“Flacco still has plenty to offer with how well he played for the Bengals last season. Initially, it seemed Father Time was on the verge of getting Flacco in 2025, but it was obvious that he was being held back by the Browns’ dreadful offense. Flacco is the ultimate backup because he offers hope, even amid the worst situations, including last year when the Bengals traded for him after Burrow’s injury.”
That last part is key. Flacco does offer hope. Why? For one, he’s been there before. Heck, he’s a Super Bowl champion, a Super Bowl MVP.
In addition, look at what he did last year. During that three-game stretch from Weeks 7-9, Flacco was, maybe, the best quarterback in the NFL. The Bengals should have been 3-0. We all know what they actually were. But still, there was a reason Bengals’ fans had hope after Flacco led them to a win over the Steelers in Week 7 on Thursday Night Football.
The way Flacco performed is a big reason the Bengals gave him a one-year deal to re-sign him this offseason.
Obviously, the hope is Burrow doesn’t go down this season. Flacco has proven he’s more than capable of stepping in if he has to. The Bengals are fortunate to have him in their quarterback room.
Flacco will be one of four quarterbacks featured in Netlfix’s “Quarterbcack” documentary this summer.
