Joe Flacco has been around the league for a long time.
The No. 18 overall pick of the 2008 draft, Flacco has experienced several changes when it comes to the league’s rules around player health and safety — particularly as it relates to protecting quarterbacks.
But according to the 41-year-old Flacco, not all the alterations have been positive for the game.
Speaking to ESPN’s Kevin Clark during Super Bowl week, Flacco noted that while he knows things aren’t going back, he still longs for the old days.
“I don’t think anybody coming into the league these days is quite as battle tested as guys that came into the league 15 years ago,” Flacco said. “I think you can kind of — if you’re a good high school recruit, you can kind of ride your way through college and they’re going to pick you because you have potential. I think there was less of that 15 years ago. I think our generation does benefit from dealing with a little bit of tougher times — just like the generation 20 years before me benefited over us. You know what I mean? And you’re right, I kind of came in as it was transitioning. So I still have that mindset. I don’t think it should be roughing the passer when they land on us. I don’t think being slapped in the head should be roughing the passer. It honestly annoys me because it affects games in a negative way at random times. They can call it or not call it. It needs to get out of the game. They need to go back to it.
“I know CTE is a thing these days and all that, but it’s football. We signed up to play it,” Flacco continued. “And I do think the guys in my generation kind of benefit a little bit from having that mindset — because the guys that are coming in nowadays, they look at me like I’m crazy. ‘What do you mean you want receivers to get laid out over the middle and you want guys to be able to land on you?’ I’m like, yeah, guys, that’s football. There’s certain things that shouldn’t be penalties. And I don’t think they see the side of it where, it really does — these 15-yard penalties in big situations that really shouldn’t be penalties in the game of football, they change these games. And as a fan, I just don’t like it. I want it to be up to us. And getting slapped in the face should not change the game. It really shouldn’t.”
Flacco also took up for defensive players whose job is now arguably harder than it’s ever been to stop offenses from moving the ball.
"[G]uys can’t even play defense as aggressively because they’re getting fined so much money for just normal hits,” Flacco said. “It’s changed the game a lot. And I don’t think we’re going back, so I’m just kind of ranting here. But, man, I don’t like it.
“Listen, we signed up to get concussions. We signed up to get hurt. It is what it is. You might not like that, but that’s what we kind of did when we decided to play this game.”
As Flacco noted, what’s done is done and the game is not going back. But his perspective as a longtime quarterback is informative on how things have changed for the latest generation of signal-callers.
Joe Flacco wrapped up his 18th season with his first trip to the Pro Bowl and the prospect of a 19th season came up during a Wednesday visit to PFT Live.
Flacco said that there are “lots of things that go into” a decision to sign with a team for the 2026 season. At the top of the list is whether or not he will have a chance to get on the field.
“At this point, I don’t want to just sign up with anybody, I don’t want to just play football or be on the sideline for the sake of being out there,” Flacco said.
Flacco opened the 2025 season as the starter in Cleveland and moved on to the Bengals in a trade after Joe Burrow injured his toe. Flacco said he enjoyed his time with the team, but Burrow’s presence would put be an obstacle to starting any more games.
“I like the idea of Cincinnati, but, at the same time, you are resigning to something there,” Flacco said. “There’s a world where I could see that happening, but I have to see what’s out there.”
The move to the Bengals means that Flacco has now played for three of the four AFC North teams. The Steelers have an unsettled quarterback position right now and Flacco called it a “pretty cool idea” to hit every team in the division while reiterating that he’ll have to evaluate every opportunity before making any decisions.
The Bears are looking for a new offensive coordinator, but it reportedly won’t be Bengals wide receivers coach Troy Walters.
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports that Walters declined an interview request from Chicago for the opening on Ben Johnson’s staff. He will remain in Cincinnati to work with a group fronted by Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Walters has been on the Bengals’ staff since 2020. The former Vikings, Colts, Cardinals and Lions wideout held several coaching jobs at the collegiate level before moving to the NFL.
The Bears have also requested an interview with Cardinals passing game specialist Connor Senger for the coordinator job. Declan Doyle had the post in 2025, but moved on to the same job with the Ravens.
The Bengals will have a pair of quarterbacks involved in this week’s Pro Bowl Games.
The team announced that Joe Burrow has been added to the AFC roster on Sunday. Joe Flacco was added to the roster last week and Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders makes it an all-Ohio quarterback group for the conference.
All three quarterbacks were replacements for original selections Josh Allen, Drake Maye, and Justin Herbert.
Burrow missed nine games after injuring his toe in the second week of the season and returned to start the final six games for Cincinnati. The Bengals went 3-3 in those games, but the season ended without a playoff trip for the third year in a row. A Pro Bowl selection probably isn’t much of a consolation prize, but it’s the one Burrow got this weekend.
Joe Flacco is a Pro Bowler for the first time in his career.
Flacco was added to the AFC’s roster for next week’s Pro Bowl Games on Friday. Flacco was never selected for the roster during his long run as a starter in Baltimore, but he’ll now be able to add that to a resume that includes a Super Bowl title and a comeback player of the year award.
Flacco joins his former Browns teammate Shedeur Sanders on the roster. Sanders was a replacement for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and the AFC needed another quarterback with Josh Allen of the Bills recovering from foot surgery.
Flacco opened the season as the starter in Cleveland, but was traded to the Bengals after being benched in favor of Dillon Gabriel. He started six games for Cincinnati before Joe Burrow returned from his injury and finished the year 251-of-416 for 2,479 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across both stops.
Bengals running back Chase Brown has one year left on his rookie deal and he’d like to secure a longer run with the team before that contract comes to an end.
Brown told Ben Baby of ESPN that his representatives have opened up talks with the Bengals about a contract extension. Brown set career highs with 1,019 rushing yards and 437 receiving yards while scoring 11 touchdowns during the 2025 season.
“I would love to do something and be a part of this team,” Brown said. “I don’t want to go anywhere else.”
The Bengals signed wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to long-term deals before last season, but they took their time before getting deals done with both players. Brown noted that wound up costing the team more than it might have if they’d gotten pacts out of the way earlier and it remains to be seen if they’ll take a different course with their top back.
The AFC and the NFC each replaced a wideout on their Pro Bowl rosters Wednesday.
Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins will be joining his teammate Ja’Marr Chase on the AFC side while CeeDee Lamb will make it a pair of Cowboys wideouts on the NFC side. George Pickens was an initial selection for the roster.
Higgins had 59 catches for 846 yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season. He replaces Ravens receiver Zay Flowers to earn his first Pro Bowl appointment.
Lamb, who replaces Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba, is now a five-time choice for the NFC squad. He had 75 catches for 1,077 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow rarely uses Twitter, but he was bothered enough by what he saw and heard during the divisional round of the playoffs to log on and defend NFL officials against accusations that they missed calls.
Tweeting for the first time in almost two years, Burrow wrote that people don’t understand what the catch rules are in the NFL, and those who do understand the rules know that the officials got some controversial calls over the weekend right.
“The amount of ppl that don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book flabbergasts me. And it’s not the officials. The two plays yesterday were not difficult calls, and they got them both right,” Burrow wrote.
Burrow didn’t say which calls he was referring to, but the controversial call that most fans were talking about was the Josh Allen pass that the officials ruled a Broncos interception, but the Bills insisted was caught by Brandin Cooks. Burrow apparently thinks the Bills were wrong and the officials were right that Cooks didn’t complete the process of the catch by surviving the ground before Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian took the ball from him.
One thing Burrow is unquestionably right about is that people still don’t understand what a catch is under NFL rules. The league has made some changes to the catch rule, but it’s always just a matter of time before a new call leads to a new round of controversy.
The Buccaneers have lined up another candidate for their offensive coordinator opening.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they will interview Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher for the role on Todd Bowles’ staff this week.
While it would be a lateral move, the Bengals are open to allowing Pitcher to move on because he does not call the plays in Cincinnati. Head coach Zac Taylor handles those duties for the Bengals.
Pitcher has been the coordinator for the last two seasons and has been on the Bengals’ staff since 2016.
The Bucs have already interviewed Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, former Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka, former Titans head coach Brian Callahan, Lions passing game coordinator David Shaw, Cardinals qauarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork, Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, and former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.
Tight end Tanner Hudson will be staying in Cincinnati.
The Bengals announced on Monday that Hudson has signed a one-year extension with the team. Hudson was set to become a free agent in March before agreeing to his new deal.
Hudson signed to the Bengals’ practice squad late in the 2022 season and saw his first game action for the team in 2023. He’s appeared in 38 games over the last three seasons and has 77 catches for 674 yards and four touchdowns.
Hudson played in 15 games during the 2025 season. He had 19 catches for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Noah Fant remains on track for free agency while Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, Erick All, and Cam Grandy remain in the Bengals’ tight end room.
