Where Does the Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Flacco Rank on List of Top Backup QBs in the NFL?

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.

Flacco re-signed with the Bengals in March after saying he was pissed off no other team brought him for a chance to compete.

That wasn’t the sole reason Flacco returned to the Bengals, as he said he enjoyed the coaching staff and the players as well.

“I think a lot of things play out throughout the course of an offseason, but ultimately you just remember the players on the team and the coaches and the staff and just the thoughts that you had hanging out with all these guys,” Flacco said after signing his one-year, $6 million contract to return.

“I just enjoyed being here and felt like it was a good fit,” he added. “And I feel like I can help this team in any role possible.”

Add all of that to the fact that he played some of the best football of his career during a six-game stint as the starter – all under the watchful eye of the Netflix cameras for the newest season of “Quarterback” – while Joe Burrow recovered from toe surgery.

And what wasn’t said but understood is that Burrow’s injury history certainly increases the odds that Flacco could be pressed into action again at some point in 2026.

Flacco edged out the 49ers’ Mac Jones and the Falcons’ Tua Tagovailoa for the top spot on the list, with Manzano writing:

“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.”

As for the rest of the backups in the AFC North, the Steelers’ Mason Rudolphi is at No. 27, the Ravens’ Tyler Huntley at No. 20 and the Browns’ Shedeur Sanders at No. 12, although it’s not out of the question he could win that job against Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel.

Here are the top 10:

10. Anthony Richardson, Colts

9. Jarrett Stidham, Broncos

8. Justin Fields, Chiefs

7. Tyson Bagent, Bears

6. Spencer Rattler, Saints

5. Fernando Mendoza, Raiders

4. Jameis Winston, Giants

3. Tua Tagovailoa, Falcons

2. Mac Jones, 49ers

1. Joe Flacco, Bengals

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