The Cincinnati Bengals appeared to be as dead as any team in the NFL after Joe Burrow went down with a serious injury, as backup quarterback Jake Browning was so underwhleming in his stint at the sticks that it prompted a truly outrageous trade with a division rival.
The Cleveland Browns, who are giving Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders some extra rope in 2025, traded veteran Joe Flacco to the Bengals for a package headlined by a fifth-round pick. Flacco will help this team in 2025, but this should be a wake-up call for this team in the future.