Bengals Backup QB Joe Flacco Pissed Off He Didn't Get Offer to Start Somewhere, Calls Other Teams 'Dumb'

Joe Flacco tried to sidestep the question but then thought better of it.

After signing a one-year deal to return to the Cincinnati Bengals as Joe Burrow’s backup, Flacco had something he wanted to get off his chest.

He’s not happy that none of the teams making moves to acquire veteran quarterbacks this offseason gave him a chance.

“I think I can get all caught up in all that and say, ‘Why not me’ and be bitter about it,” Flacco said pausing and redirecting his response with raw honesty.

“I probably do feel that way,” he conceded. “Yeah, it pisses me off a little bit. But at the same time, I’m very happy to be here. I had a lot of fun with Joe, and Joe’s the guy. And believe me, I wish I was the guy somewhere, and think teams are dumb for not having be that guy.”

Even though he was currently out of options, Flacco could have played the waiting game to see if another team became quarterback needy, whether it be due to injury or other circumstances, at some point this offseason or training camp.

But Flacco said several conversation with Bengals head coach Zac Taylor ultimately led him back to the Bengals.

“I had conversations with Zac about that, just like waiting vs. signing,” Flacco said. “Being around the guys and playing football is what I like to do, and it's important to me to be out there doing that.

“I went into the offseason hoping I'd have multiple options and have to make a really big decision,” he continued. “There was a piece of me going into the offseason that was like, ‘Oh, I'm willing to go home and sit around.’ And then as the offseason kind of went on, I did start to feel good about it.”

Flacco played some of the best football of his career after joining the Bengals in October and speed-reading the playbook a few days before starting against the Green Bay Packers.

And he made the first Pro Bowl of his career.

The Super Bowl XLVII MVP and 2023 Comeback Player of the Year talked about “unfinished business.”

“That's part of why I'm still here and playing,” he said. “I feel like I can help a team win. And yeah, it may be in a different role here, but I do still think I can help this team win in that role.

“I'm just gonna approach my job like a professional and be the best I can be in my role and have fun with the guys in this locker room,” Flacco added. “Listen, I'm a football player. I want to go out there and play and I want to still want to show people that.”

Flacco said there were no conversations with the Bengals about a separation if a job opened somewhere and a team was interested in adding him.

But he also said he wouldn’t shy away from starting those talks if the hypothetical becomes reality.

“I'm sure if I wanted to I could have those conversations,” he said. “I'm just as old as everybody on this staff and I don't mind having some of those grown-up conversations. But nothing's gone there (yet).”

In the meantime, he will work as hard as ever to not only be the best backup he can be to Burrow, but to be the best prepared he can be to step into the role should the need arise and try to repeat how he played in 2025.

From his time as the starter from Week 6-12, Flacco ranked second in the league in touchdown passes (13) and fifth in passing yards (1,636).

“I think anytime you go play good football, it's important,” he said. “You realize the importance of it and that's the goal.

“I mean, when you're in a locker room before a game on Sunday suiting up, that's the goal is to go out there and play good football,” he added. “And I think that will always be the goal. And when it's not, I won't do it anymore.”