Joe Flacco Returning To The Cincinnati Bengals On A One-Year Deal With Big Incentives

The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to bring quarterback Joe Flacco back on a one-year deal worth $6 million, which could be worth as much as $9 million with incentives. Cincinnati acquired Flacco from the Cleveland Browns last season after Week 4 for a late-round pick swap, coming off three consecutive losses with Jake Browning under center.

More about QB Joe Flacco agreeing to a one-year, $6 million deal that could be worth up to $9 million with the Cincinnati Bengals:https://t.co/hdQjhq90Mr
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 24, 2026

While the acquisition of Flacco didn't result in a ton of wins for the Bengals, with the team going 1-6 in his seven starts, he was a massive upgrade from Browning. Once he joined, there was a massive spike in fantasy production for Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown, who had been borderline benchable with Browning under center.

With Flacco back with the Bengals, he is a failsafe for the weapons in Cincinnati should starting quarterback Joe Burrow once again go down with another injury. Something that hasn't been a rare occurrence in his career. This makes all their key fantasy options much safer options than they would be with an incompetent backup on the team.

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Fantasy Impact

QB Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals

This is as good a backup job as Flacco could possibly find. He is now on the roster behind an oft-injured starter on an offense loaded with elite weapons. Of course, he would be better off if he somehow got a starting job somewhere, but that may no longer be a feasible option for the 41-year-old quarterback.

WR Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

We have Chase listed here because he's the most prominent fantasy option on the Bengals, but this applies to all the weapons in the offense. The only real concern with any of them is the durability of their fragile quarterback.

Having Flacco there as a backup vastly eases that concern because at least he is capable of sustaining fantasy viable weapons. Last season, we saw that even with top stars like Chase and Justin Jefferson, they could have their fantasy value dragged down by miserable quarterbacks like Browning and JJ McCarthy.

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