We’re getting closer and closer to NFL free agency, and the Cincinnati Bengals have 16 players with expiring contracts. Who will re-sign with the team, and who will leave when the 2026 league year begins? We’ll go through all impending free agents before the madness begins.
The Bengals entered 2025 believing they had their backup quarterback position settled. They would soon find out they could do much better, and in the most unorthodox of ways. Cincinnati now must decide if it’s worth keeping around a newfound answer to a very real concern.
Joe Flacco
Position: Quarterback
Age for 2027 Season: 41
Incoming NFL Year: 19th
Previous AAV: $4,250,000
2026 Snap %: 62.7%
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Joe Flacco was traded to the Bengals in Week 6 of the 2025 season. He started for the Cleveland Browns from Week 1-4 before being benched for rookie Dillon Gabriel. Cincinnati gave up its fifth-round pick for Flacco and Cleveland’s sixth-round pick in the hopes an upgrade over backup Jake Browning would keep the team afloat while Joe Burrow was recovering from turf toe surgery.
Flacco only won one game as the Bengals’ starter, but he did the very best he could for being thrown into the fire. He threw for 1,664 yards and 13 touchdowns to just four interceptions in six starts. Cincy averaged 27.2 points per game during his six-game stretch, but an average of 34 points per game allowed led to five losses before Burrow was able to come back.
Trading for Flacco was an uncharacteristic midseason move for the Bengals, and while it didn’t lead to the overall success they had hoped for, he proved to be someone who can replicate Burrow’s expected production where Browning could not. That was more than eye-opening for everyone involved.
Contract History and Projection
Flacco signed a one-year, $4.25 million contract with the Browns, including a $1.745 million signing bonus, and $3 million guaranteed. Cincinnati took on the contract upon landing him via trade. He previously signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts in 2024. He’s played on one-year deals every year since 2020, ranging from $1.5 million to the $4.5 million figure from two years ago.
Spotrac.com’s calculated market value for Flacco is a one-year, $5,596,231 contract, which would rank 33rd among QBs in the league. This would be the largest deal he would have signed since he was an uncontested starter.
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Prediction
The Bengals should be interested in bringing back Flacco, and it sounds like that interest is real. They will push with a real offer, comparative offer relative to what the former Super Bowl MVP has made in his second chapter as a backup/spot starter.
Cincinnati has a chance to completely solidify its backup QB position in a time when the importance of that spot has never been greater. Burrow has endured two major injuries in a three-year span, and not having to worry about what happens if he misses more time would be a luxury.
Re-signing Flacco would be as good of a short-term fix as the Bengals could land on. What ends up happening completely depends on Flacco’s mindset.
Playing quality football in a structured offense with high-level weapons may’ve invigorated Flacco to continue pursuing starter gigs in the NFL. His short stint throwing to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will garner interest from other clubs as well, hoping he can bring stability to a QB room that doesn’t have a Burrow-like leader.
Barring an offer that makes Flacco one, if not the highest-paid backup QB in the league, I foresee him leaving for a club offering a chance at real playing time beyond injury to the starter.
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Bengals Free Agent Profiles
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Feb 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.