Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown's Fantasy Outlook after Bengals' Flacco Trade

After struggling to a third consecutive loss on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals made a big move Tuesday in an attempt to save their floundering season.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Bengals agreed to send a fifth-round draft pick to the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns in exchange for veteran quarterback Joe Flacco and a sixth-round pick.

The 40-year-old Flacco figures to supplant Jake Browning as Cincinnati's starter in the absence of the injured Joe Burrow, leaving fantasy football managers to wonder what it means for Bengals skill-position players such as wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and running back Chase Brown.

Here is a look at how Flacco's addition in Cincy could potentially impact the fantasy value of Chase, Higgins and Brown.

Ja'Marr Chase

Even with Burrow missing the past three games, Chase has been among the best wideouts in fantasy football, ranking ninth in total fantasy points among receivers in point-per-reception leagues.

Through five games, Chase has 32 receptions for 374 yards and three touchdowns to his credit, and he is coming off arguably his best game of the season thus far, as he made six catches for 110 yards and two scores against the Detroit Lions.

Chase has still been a WR1 in fantasy without Burrow and he will continue to be one, but he hasn't performed to the level of the No. 1 overall pick in fantasy, which is where he went in most leagues.

Perhaps Chase gets a slight bump in value with the arrival of Flacco, but that is far from guaranteed given that he doesn't yet know the offense and that he doesn't have a rapport with Chase in the way Burrow and Browning.

Regardless, Chase should continue to be deployed in fantasy starting lineups across all formats with the expectation that he will at least maintain the pace he is currently on.

Tee Higgins

While Chase has remained a useful fantasy asset without Burrow, the same certainly cannot be said about Higgins.

Despite missing five games last season, Higgins still finished with 73 catches for 911 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns, which resulted in him being a second- or third-round pick in most fantasy formats.

Higgins has essentially been unstartable throughout the 2025 season, accruing just 13 catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

In terms of healthy seasons, Higgins is trending toward the worst year of his career by far, so the change to Flacco is welcomed given that things can't get much worse for him.

However, that doesn't mean Higgins is automatically a smash play again in fantasy, at least not until he and Flacco prove that they can do some damage together.

Flacco started the Browns' first four games this season before getting supplanted by rookie Dillon Gabriel, and it isn't as if Jerry Jeudy or Cedric Tillman were lighting the world on fire with him as their quarterback.

Jeudy has 15 catches for 197 yards and no touchdowns in five games this season, and Tillman has 11 grabs for 106 yards and two touchdowns. It is fair to say Higgins is a better receiver than both of them, but their lack of production suggests managers shouldn't rush to put him back in their lineups quite yet.

Chase Brown

A strong argument can be made for Brown being the biggest disappointment in all of fantasy football this season.

After Zack Moss, Brown took over as the Bengals' starting running back about midway through last season, and he delivered RB1 numbers the rest of the way.

Overall, Brown rushed for 990 yards and seven touchdowns, while also catching 54 balls for 360 yards and four scores, making him a stud in PPR leagues in particular.

The Bengals essentially brought in no competition for Brown this season, which led to him consistently getting taken in the second round of fantasy drafts, but he has played more like a late-round pick at best.

Through five games, Brown has rushed for 160 yards and one touchdown, adding 18 receptions for 95 yards. His efficiency has been especially atrocious, averaging 2.5 yards per rush and 5.3 yards per reception.

The passing game being far less of a threat with Browning rather than Burrow has undoubtedly contributed to his struggles, but improvement under Flacco isn't a sure thing.

At the very least, Flacco did utilize running backs in the passing game during his four starts in Cleveland this season, as Dylan Sampson had an eight-catch game, Jerome Ford and four- and five-catch games, and Quinshon Judkins had a four-catch game.

Because of that, Brown is worthy of a speculative FLEX start for now, but nothing more until he proves it on the field.