Steelers HC Mike Tomlin shared his thoughts on the Browns trading QB Joe Flacco to the Bengals yesterday, and apparently it drew attention. Beat writers for both the Browns and Bengals relayed Tomlin’s statement to those teams’ respective head coaches, who duly answered. Not that they had much to say, but it’s still remarkable to see the comment penetrate so quickly.
Specifically, Tomlin called the Flacco trade “shocking” to him and suggested that Browns GM Andrew Berry “must be a lot smarter” as the only explanation for why he couldn’t make sense of the trade. The Browns and Bengals are, of course, division rivals, and the Bengals needed a starting quarterback.
The Browns entered the 2025 season with Joe Flacco their starting quarterback, but that didn’t last long. After weeks of struggle, they benched him in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel. Meanwhile, the Bengals were drowning with longtime backup Jake Browning, inadequately filling in for the injured Joe Burrow. For relatively minor compensation, Cleveland dealt Flacco to the Bengals, whom Tomlin and the Steelers are now preparing for.
Asked about Tomlin’s comments about the Browns trading Flacco, Cleveland HC Kevin Stefanski only offered, “Yeah, I don’t have a comment on that”. Bengals HC Zac Taylor struck a slightly different tone, of course. “I was happy. I was happy. That’s my only comment”, he said.
Just days after the Bengals acquired him, Flacco started on Sunday in a losing effort to the Packers. But they showed, perhaps, some signs of life. Flacco made a career out of pushing the ball down the field, as Tomlin and the Steelers know. Even across the age-40 barrier, he showed he could still do that.
The Bengals built their offense around Joe Burrow and their two stud receivers, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Their thinking is as long as they have a quarterback who can get these guys the football, they have a chance. Even Stefanski, to be fair, was surprised by the trade.
As to Tomlin’s point, division rivals typically do not want to help one another. From Tomlin’s perspective, perhaps the Browns’ willingness to part with Flacco suggested a forfeiture of the season. Granted, they’d already benched him, but the Bengals needed a quarterback. Unless they believed that Flacco would make Cincinnati worse—but that seems unlikely. Jake Browning had a handle on that.
Tomlin, of course, may also have an unreasonable aversion to Joe Flacco, as referenced recently. Earlier this season, he openly acknowledged that he advised his defense to keep Colts QB Anthony Richardson upright because he didn’t want to see Flacco enter the game. Well, the Steelers failed to do that, and Flacco ended up beating them.
That doesn’t change the fact that, on the whole, Flacco is pretty much washed at this point in his career. But he can still throw a football down the field, and on a bad day that can beat Tomlin’s defense.
