Cincinnati Bengals - October 9, 2025

Arms Race Heats Up

Plus: Bengals Locker Room Reacts to Joe Flacco ...

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AFC NORTH ARMS RACE HEATS UP AS BENGALS ADD HIRED GUN JOE FLACCO

Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., leaped for his phone Tuesday when he saw the news. Joe Flacco was the quarterback during Brown's first three starts as a rookie for the Ravens in 2018, Flacco's last season in Baltimore.

BENGALS LOCKER ROOM REACTS TO JOE FLACCO

When you've been in this thing for 18 years like Joe Flacco has, you'll never meet a stranger. And that's exactly what happened Wednesday on his first day of work as a Bengal at Paycor Stadium.

His new right tackle, Amarius Mims, turned six the fall Flacco broke into the league, and those Flacco-Ben Roethlisberger AFC North matchups helped him fall in love with the game.

His new left tackle, Orlando Brown Jr., was one of his ball boys in Flacco's first couple of years in the league at Ravens training camp. Not to mention one of his old right tackles from Brown's rookie year in Baltimore.

One of his new tight ends, Noah Fant, caught his first pro touchdown pass from Flacco as a Broncos rookie on a 25-yard screen pass.

COACHES GET AHEAD OF JOE FLACCO'S FIRST BENGALS START

A scant five weeks ago on the Wednesday before the opener, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and quarterback Joe Burrow talked about what they could expect from Browns vet quarterback Joe Flacco.

"I think he throws it better than, No. 1, a lot of people give him credit for. And I think he's one of the more natural throwers of the football that I've ever seen," Burrow said back on Sept. 3. "He can spin it with the best of them. He's got one of the strongest arms of all time. So he's going to be able to put the ball when and where he wants to put it."

Now, on this Wednesday, Taylor talked about how well Flacco fits Burrow's system as they began Day Two of a breakneck week preparing Flacco for his first Bengals' start. It comes Sunday (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Local 12) in Green Bay, five days after the trade.