What Bengals Trade for Joe Flacco Means for the NY Giants

The Bengals reportedly didn't even bother to place a call to the New York Giants about possibly obtaining quarterback Russell Wilson in a trade.

The Bengals reportedly didn't even bother to place a call to the New York Giants about possibly obtaining quarterback Russell Wilson in a trade. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

With quarterback Joe Burrow expected to be sidelined by injury until December and backup quarterback Jake Browning having struggled to fill the gap, the Cincinnati Bengals traded for a veteran quarterback – but no, not the one who was linked to them.

The Bengals acquired Joe Flacco in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, believing that Flacco, who, like Russell Wilson of the Giants, has a Super Bowl victory to his name, gives them a better chance of staying afloat over Wilson, who the Giants benched after getting the offense to an 0-3 start.

But what’s interesting about the Bengals' move is that, according to SNY, the Bengals didn’t even bother to place a call to East Rutherford to see if the Giants might be willing to part with either Wilson or Jameis Winston. 

The lack of reported interest in Winston isn’t so much of a surprise, as the Giants signed him to a two-year deal with the intention of having him serve as a veteran mentor for rookie JAxson Dart both this year and next year. 

But Wilson was viewed as a more likely trade chip, despite his professing a desire to remain in New York following his demotion to a quarterback-needy team. 

It was further anticipated that if the Giants could swing a trade for Wilson, they not only could pick up at least a Day 3 draft pick to give them an extra pick in a year where they're not expected to have any comp picks, but they could also offload a portion of Wilson’s very cap-friendly $2 million base salary.

There remains a possibility that Wilson, who is only under contract to the Giants for this year, could be moved for the right offer if a team suffers an injury at the most important position on offense. But the trade deadline on November 4 is fast approaching.

For now, Wilson, who has reportedly been running the scout team for the Giants during their practices, will remain with the Giants after, again, reportedly not drawing any interest from a team that was viewed as one of the neediest of the lot at present.

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