The Bengals are desperately trying to save their season.
After an ugly three-game losing streak, the Bengals made the surprising decision to acquire veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in a trade with the Browns. Cincinnati is sending a 2026 fifth-round pick to Cleveland in exchange for a ’26 sixth-round selection and the 40-year-old quarterback.
This move likely ends Jake Browning’s tenure as the Bengals’ temporary starter. Browning had three disastrous starts while filling in for the injured Joe Burrow, who might still be a few weeks away from returning from turf toe.
For the Browns, they’re all in on moving forward for the rest of the season with rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Here are the grades and analysis from this rare swap between AFC North rivals.
Bengals
The Bengals got desperate, plain and simple.
It’s not surprising that they haven’t given up on the season, but they should seriously consider waving the white flag because this team has a ton of problems that go beyond the quarterback position. Yes, Browning has been awful, but Flacco likely won’t do any better behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league.
Let’s not forget that Flacco just got benched because he failed to ignite the Browns’ offense during four starts this season. He has only completed 58.1% of his passes, with two touchdowns and six interceptions.
Flacco could get better results throwing to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but asking this offensive line to hold up for downfield shots could lead to many killer turnovers. And there’s also the subpar defense that has gotten lit up by the Vikings, Broncos and Lions in the past three weeks. Now, the Bengals will face the Packers and first-place Steelers.
The Bengals probably would have been better off trading for a mobile quarterback to get the stagnant rushing attack going—another concerning problem. I understand that the options are limited and the Bengals needed to take action, but the best way to save this team is not by staying afloat until Burrow returns; it’s by gaining a top-10 draft pick. Burrow needs better linemen to stay upright next season and the seasons after that.
At 2–3, maybe the Bengals have a slim chance to make a late surge in the AFC North, with the Ravens also reeling due to injuries. However, it’s challenging to see this team fixing all its problems just because Flacco arrived.
Grade: D
Browns
The 1–4 Browns were the smart team here. They’re thinking beyond 2025.
Flacco wasn’t in their long-term plans and got their desperate divisional rival to cough up a fifth-round pick for a middle-aged quarterback they just benched a week ago.
Cleveland, without admitting it, knows the playoffs aren’t in the cards this season. This team needed to find out what they have in Gabriel, the rookie third-round pick, who had a decent debut in the Week 5 loss against the Vikings in London. And if Gabriel ends up struggling in the coming weeks, well, that’s not so bad because they’ll then get a look at Sanders, the polarizing rookie fifth-round pick and son of the legendary Deion Sanders.
Honestly, I don’t see Gabriel or Sanders convincing the Browns that they’re franchise quarterback material. They’ll likely be using one of their two first-round picks next year on a quarterback. But Cleveland deserves credit for thinking about the future, seeing what they have in their rookie signal-callers, and taking advantage of a desperate team.
With a strong 2025 draft class, the Browns might soon have a better overall roster than the Bengals even without a star quarterback. Cincinnati should take note of how to build a roster that’s not top-heavy.
Grade: A
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joe Flacco Trade Grades: Browns Were the Smart Team.
