Bengals Reportedly Traded for Joe Flacco Because Jake Browning's Arm 'Died Out'

The Cincinnati Bengals made the midseason decision to trade for Joe Flacco last week, immediately installing him as the starting quarterback ahead of Sunday's 27-18 loss against the Green Bay Packers.

The play of previous backup Jake Browning made the move inevitable.

According to Albert Breer of SI.com, "the Bengals thought Browning's arm had died out, and he wasn't seeing things as far, necessitating the trade."

Flacco was solid on Sunday, given the circumstances, finishing 29-of-45 for 219 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and just one sack taken. And vitally, he kept both Ja'Marr Chase (10 receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets) and Tee Higgins (five catches for 62 yards on eight targets) involved in the offense.

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It didn't prevent the Bengals from losing a fourth straight game, but they at least were competitive. Under Browning, that hadn't been the case.