Well baby
CINCINNATI — Zac Taylor’s first sentence to new quarterback Joe Flacco was a welcome one for the Cincinnati Bengals. The second sentence from the team’s head coach? Get ready to start on Sunday.
Flacco was confirmed as the team’s new starting quarterback a day after the Bengals successfully completed a rare intra-division trade on Tuesday. Cincinnati sent a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Flacco and a 2026 sixth-round selection.
When the team came out for practice Wednesday, Flacco wore his new No. 16 jersey and began the acclimation process for the upcoming game against the Green Bay Packers.
“He’s going to take all the reps and get ready to go,” Taylor said during his news conference Wednesday.
This will be the second time in four weeks that Flacco has started a game against the Packers. He started against Green Bay in Week 3 as the Browns’ quarterback, and Cleveland won 13-10.
Flacco also played against his current club this season. He completed 31 of 45 passes for 290 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in a 17-16 loss to the Bengals in Week 1.
Cincinnati (2-3) opted to make the change at quarterback after Jake Browning struggled in Joe Burrow’s absence. With Burrow on injured reserve while recovering from surgery to repair a turf toe injury on his left foot, Cincinnati lost three straight games, with Browning starting all of them. Taylor confirmed that Browning would return to backup status, with former Packer Sean Clifford serving as a reserve quarterback on the practice squad.
Bengals de facto general manager Duke Tobin informed Taylor on Tuesday that the team was going to be able to land Flacco. Taylor said Tobin asked for his opinion on the possibility of adding the 40-year veteran. Taylor gave Tobin his full approval, he said, before Tobin finalized the process of executing the transaction.
Once the move was complete, the Bengals sent a car to Cleveland to drive Flacco up Interstate 71 to Cincinnati. The Bengals also transferred documents for Flacco to study as Taylor called him on the phone to go over the fundamentals of Cincinnati’s offense.
The added benefit of Flacco’s recent experience against the Packers this season should be beneficial as the Bengals travel to Lambeau Field this weekend.
“At least the only advantage we have in bringing Joe Flacco here is he watched tape for a week,” Taylor said. “He played that game. He’ll have to do the same thing again, because they’ve played two games since, but at the same time, it’s at least there in the back of his mind.”
Flacco is not expected to speak to reporters until Friday as he takes every available minute to prepare for his impending debut with the Bengals. Taylor did not have a timetable for Burrow’s return as he continues his recovery process. But in the meantime, Cincinnati is hoping Flacco can be the lift needed to end a three-game skid and keep the Bengals in playoff contention for as long as possible this season.
“Our number one goal is to win every game we can win and go to the playoffs and go deep into the playoffs,” Taylor said. “That’s 100 percent our goal, no matter who our quarterback is. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
