When Joe Flacco entered free agency earlier this month, he wanted to at least try to land a starting gig.

If that didn’t happen, according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, Flacco wanted to return to the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Flacco officially re-signed with the Bengals Wednesday morning on a one-year deal and his 19th season in the NFL.

Pelissero and Ian Rapoport originally reported the deal Tuesday night.

The contract is worth $6 million and has the potential of an additional $3 million in incentives.

“I love the building,” Flacco said, according to the team’s website. “I enjoyed being there, and I’m excited about being back with the fellas.

Flacco started last season with the Cleveland Browns before a mid-season trade sent the veteran quarterback to Cincinnati to help the team while starting quarterback Joe Burrow recovered from turf toe surgery.

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The now-41-year-old quarterback started in six games for the Bengals last season. He threw for 1,664 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 61.7-percent completion rate in nine games played.

The Bengals also signed veteran quarterback Josh Johnson earlier this month. Flacco and Johnson will provide the Bengals with two backup options behind Burrow.

“I don’t know what Plan A was,” Flacco said Wednesday. “It’s tough to kind of say exactly what that looked like, so you kind of just have to go with the flow a little bit. I have good feelings there. The hardest thing for me is probably coming to grips with the fact that I might not play.

“I felt like I had to be careful with some certain decisions. I don’t want to be in another situation where I’m going and playing four games like I did last year in Cleveland. I was a little bit nervous about that for whatever reason, and kind of getting thrown under the bus. I think there was a time to be that guy, but I don’t know if I was willing to do that. It just felt right in the gut.”

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Flacco was under center for the Bengals in November when Cincinnati lost to the Patriots 26-20. He threw 183 yards for one touchdown and one interception on a 51.4 percent completion rate.

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