Overview

• Cleveland traded Flacco and a 2026 sixth-round pick to Cincinnati for a 2026 fifth-rounder on Oct. 7 in a rare AFC North quarterback swap.
• Flacco started five days later, completing 29 of 45 passes for 219 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in a 27-18 loss to the Packers.
• Tomlin said the move "doesn't make sense" from the Browns' side but "made sense" for the Bengals, and he anticipates improvement from Flacco before Thursday’s Steelers–Bengals game.
• The Browns benched Flacco after four starts and dropped to 1-5 with rookie Dillon Gabriel, who was sacked six times and hit 16 times in Sunday’s 23-9 loss to Pittsburgh.
• The Bengals are 2-4 after moving on from Jake Browning, whose turnovers piled up while Joe Burrow recovers from toe surgery.