Bengals' Joe Flacco sets record straight on trade rumors to Giants after Jaxson Dart injury

What the veteran backup said about his name being attached to speculation

Sep 25, 2026 at 1:53 pm ET • 2 min read

With six NFL franchises facing quarterback dilemmas in Week 3 following significant injuries, proven backups have become immediate trade rumor fodder across the league. Jaxson Dart's knee injury with the New York Giants immediately summoned speculation involving Joe Flacco and whether the Cincinnati Bengals would be willing to part with their seasoned No. 2.

Jameis Winston is New York's new starter and struggled in Monday night's 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, completing just 11-of-27 passes for 111 yards and an interception.

Flacco was uninterested in discussing his ties to New York — as a former three-year Jet — or talk linking him to a possible trade destination with the Giants.

"It's obviously not real and not true," Flacco told The Cincinnati Enquirer late Thursday." "But it was good enough to get people like certain friends of mine to get them to text me, 'hey, I'll see you in New York.' I was like, 'no, guys, you won't, that's not true.'"

Much like the San Francisco 49ers planning to keep their No. 2 Mac Jones in the wake of several quarterback injuries around the NFL, it's unlikely the Bengals would be willing to depart from Flacco.

He's a proven veteran behind Joe Burrow and signed a one-year free agent deal in March with the Bengals worth $9 million total incentives as an emergency depth chart option. Flacco's coming off his first Pro Bowl nod and garnered respect from Bengals coach Zac Taylor last season after filling in admirably for Burrow over nine games with 1,664 yards passing, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions.

"I just get a kick out of it," Flacco said of trade rumors. "I haven't really given it too much thought at this point."

Five days after the Bengals traded for Flacco last season, he started a game against the Green Bay Packers and floored Taylor with his poise and knowledge of the game.

"It was never lost on us how impressive that was," Taylor said during training camp this summer. "That's a big reason we brought him back."

Flacco's immediate fit in Taylor's offensive scheme made it a no-brainer to invest in the 41-year-old signal caller for another season in 2026. And given Burrow's injury history, Cincinnati feels good about its decision.

Currently first in the AFC North as the division's lone unbeaten, the Bengals (2-0) play the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road this weekend at 1 p.m. on Sunday inside Acrisure Stadium on CBS.