Browns trade veteran QB Joe Flacco to Bengals

The Cleveland Browns completed the latest chapter of their bizarre quarterback history by trading veteran Joe Flacco and a sixth-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for a fifth-rounder.

Flacco, 40, was no longer in the Browns’ plans after being benched for rookie Dillon Gabriel ahead of their Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London. Cleveland will likely promote Bailey Zappe from its practice squad, and we’ll see later in the week if rookie Shedeur Sanders will move up from emergency quarterback or if Zappe will become the primary backup.

This is the first time the Browns and Bengals have made a deal. Obviously, it will bring up memories of the 2017 trade deadline and the strange almost-deal between the teams when then-Browns coach Hue Jackson wanted quarterback A.J. McCarron, and McCarron was informed he was being sent to Cleveland, but no paperwork was exchanged or finalized before the 4 p.m. deadline.

Sashi Brown, who now runs the business operations for the Baltimore Ravens but then ran the Browns’ football operation, purposely did not fax over the paperwork in time, and the trade never went through.

Flacco has shown over the years that he can learn an offense on a few days’ notice and that he can launch it deep. With Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins healthy and the offense under Jake Browning having hit a wall, the addition of Flacco makes sense for the Bengals.

The Browns and Bengals don’t play again until the season finale.

Why Bengals picked Flacco

The Bengals had to do something. They were discussing several quarterbacks over the past 48 hours. The current plan with Browning fell apart since he took over. Flacco’s experience offers the ability to arrive and quickly digest the system midseason and start as quickly as possible. That’s probably beginning Sunday against Green Bay (a team Flacco has already beaten this year).

Too often under Browning in recent weeks, the ball was not going where it needed to, whether it was a quick checkdown, the obvious shot downfield or throwing the ball away under pressure. Flacco brings experience to put the ball into the proper spots and, specifically, into the hands of playmakers like Chase and Higgins. The previous direction was unsustainable. Flacco brings a bit of new hope. — Paul Dehner Jr., Bengals writer

Why Flacco is a concerning choice

Flacco brings minimal mobility in the pocket. The Bengals offensive line is notably poor. That feels like a dangerous combination for effective offensive football as well as physical well-being.

All eyes turn to coach Zac Taylor, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher and the offensive line to scheme and execute ways to keep Flacco cleaner in the pocket. Pressure has traditionally led to giveaways in his career, and those interceptions are a big part of why Browning is no longer the starter. Can Cincinnati keep Flacco upright? That’s a big, big question. — Dehner

Why the Bengals had to do something

The AFC North is attainable. It’s possible — if not likely — that nine wins are enough. The AFC, as a whole, doesn’t look overwhelming. Cincinnati is 2-3 with a schedule that lightens significantly once it gets through this week. If Flacco can bring some juice to the offense, it could be enough to keep the Bengals in the hunt until late December, when Joe Burrow might return from his toe injury.

All they had to give up was a Day 3 pick swap. That’s a chance you take every single time there’s even a slight chance it could get Burrow into January football. — Dehner

Why the Browns made the move

The Browns don’t fully blame Flacco for their offensive struggles in the season’s first month. But something had to give, and a quarterback change sometime before Thanksgiving was inevitable.

So the change continues here, and Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has to hope Gabriel can get more help from his offensive line and pass catchers than Flacco did. In Gabriel’s first start Sunday, familiar problems showed up in the loss to Minnesota. — Zac Jackson, Browns writer

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