Feb. 10, 2026, 4:12 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> quarterback Joe Flacco is from a different era.\u00a0<\/p>\n No disrespect: He\u2019s had incredible staying power, hence his coming over via trade last year while Joe Burrow was hurt and keeping the Bengals<\/a> alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n But that comes with some insightful commentary that isn\u2019t necessarily prevalent with today\u2019s generation of players.\u00a0<\/p>\n Flacco\u2019s comments about the NFL around this year\u2019s Super Bowl illustrate that point well.\u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED:6 Bengals veterans who won\u2019t be on Zac Taylor\u2019s roster next year<\/a><\/p>\n Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n “[G]uys can\u2019t even play defense as aggressively because they\u2019re getting fined so much money for just normal hits,\u201d Flacco said during an interview with Kevin Clark. \u201cIt\u2019s changed the game a lot. And I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going back, so I\u2019m just kind of ranting here. But, man, I don\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n Flacco added this: \u201cListen, we signed up to get concussions. We signed up to get hurt. It is what it is. You might not like that, but that\u2019s what we kind of did when we decided to play this game.\u201d<\/p>\n Usually, this sort of talk comes from a retired guy like Tom Brady. Not to say it\u2019s wrong, either, but that seems to be the trend.\u00a0<\/p>\n Flacco, of course, intends to keep playing. And the Bengals want him back<\/a>. Provided another team in free agency doesn\u2019t offer him an outright starting job, there\u2019s a chance he\u2019ll be signing up for it all again in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n