Joe Burrow’s Week 1 Message to Joe Flacco Takes on New Meaning After Bengals Trade

Kristen Wong | Oct 7, 2025

Former Browns quarterback Joe Flacco shared a nice moment with Bengals' Joe Burrow after Week 1's game. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Bengals had the NFL world buzzing after they traded for Joe Flacco on Tuesday, ending the veteran quarterback's brief and disappointing stint with the Browns this season.

Flacco is set to make history as the only quarterback to start for the Ravens, Browns and Bengals in his NFL career, and he could see the field as soon as this Sunday in Cincinnati's Week 6 matchup against the Packers.

The AFC North journeyman has had varying success as a spot-starter following his 11-year tenure with the Ravens, but there's good reason to believe Flacco can at least perform better than the now-benched Jake Browning and maybe even keep the 2–3 Bengals in the AFC playoff race by the time Joe Burrow comes back from injury.

In the wake of the Flacco trade, a short exchange between him and Burrow has resurfaced on social media. Following the Bengals' 17–16 win over the Browns in Week 1, Burrow and Flacco shared a nice moment on the field and paid their respects to one another.

Mics caught Burrow telling Flacco, "Good job, man. Looking forward to watching you this year."

Joe Burrow's message to Joe Flacco week one:

"Good job, man. Looking forward to watching you this year."

Burrow will now be watching Flacco in Cincinnati. #Bengals @FOX19

(Moment captured by @FOX19Joe) pic.twitter.com/KCRUwVb5zy

— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) October 7, 2025

Burrow will very much be watching the veteran try and keep the Bengals' postseason hopes alive across the next few months and help Cincinnati sneak into what's expected to be a volatile AFC playoff field this winter. Early estimates have Burrow returning to the field by Week 16's game against the Dolphins in late December—we'll see if Flacco and the Bengals can stay afloat until then.

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