Bengals get $12 million contract projection on fan favorite Pro Bowl QB

The Cincinnati Bengals have some work to do this offseason. Fortunately, the offense is essentially set with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown under contract.

While the defensive side of the ball is the main focus this offseason for the Bengals, there is still a big decision the Bengals must make on the offensive side of the ball.

Cincinnati needs to make a decision with their backup quarterback. And according to ESPN's Bill Barnwell, fan favorite backup QB Joe Flacco received a $12 million contract projection this offseason, revealing the not-cheap price tag to keep Flacco.

Bengals get $12M contract projection on Joe Flacco

Barnwell named Flacco in the fifth tier of free agent quarterbacks, "Backups likely to net guaranteed money."

For these quarterbacks, which include Marcus Mariota, Gardner Minshew, and Mitchell Trubisky, along with Flacco, Barnwell projects they'll land an "average annual salary: $6-12 million."

If the Bengals want to bring Flacco back this offseason, Barnwell projects that Cincinnati will have to set aside at least $6 million, and up to $12 million to re-sign him.

Flacco was named to the Pro Bowl roster in 2025, as he threw for 1,664 yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions with the Bengals in nine games.

He was a good fill-in for Burrow while he was out for the middle of the season. He's now a free agent, and the Bengals have a difficult choice to make.

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Do they try relying on Jake Browning again, or do they bring Flacco back on a big deal? It's not a simple decision for the Bengals. Flacco is a good backup, but spending $12 million on him might be too much.

However, as seen last season, Browning's struggles led the Bengals to trade for Flacco mid-season in an attempt to save their season. Letting him walk might not be the right decision.

If they do decide to bring him back, this $6 million to $12 million contract range is a good benchmark for how much it would cost to bring the fan favorite Pro Bowl quarterback back to Cincinnati for one more season.

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