After a shaky 2025 season, the Cincinnati Bengals close the year at 6-11 and look ahead to 2026 as a turnaround season.
While this year didn't go to plan, if there was one positive, it would be the trade of Joe Flacco, as he meshed great with the team, was was a major bright-spot for Cincinnati this season.
After the season came to a close, James Rapien of Bengals Talk shared a heartwarming gesture from Flacco he extended to Ja'Marr Chase. Flacco gave Chase a signed jersey with a thoughtful message to the superstar Bengals wide receiver.
Joe Flacco extends a heartwarming gesture to Ja'Marr Chase
"Joe Flacco left a signed jersey at Ja'Marr Chase's locker with a message calling him the greatest ever and expressing how grateful he was to play with him," Rapien shared.
This is a nice gesture for Flacco to make, especially since the longtime NFL quarterback has been around the league for a long time, has played with great receivers, and wasn't with the Bengals for long.
But his time in the city clearly went well, as his gesture to Chase is not just a heartwarming one, but a sign that the relationship between the two was great.
When Joe Burrow was out, and after Flacco was acquired by the Bengals, Flacco and Chase had a strong connection on the field.
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Flacco started with Cincinnati in Week 6, completing 10-of-12 targets to Chase for 94 yards and a touchdown. The next week, he targeted Chase 23 times for 16 completions, 161 yards, and one touchdown.
Until Burrow eventually came back in Week 13, Flacco had games of 12 catches for 91 yards (Week 8), six catches for 111 yards (Week 9), and three for 30 (Week 11).
While it didn't end perfectly, the Flacco-Chase connection was a strong one, and helped keep the Bengals an interesting team to watch week-in and week-out with Burrow still recovering from injury.
Their connection on the field was great, but based on this gesture from Flacco after the season came to a close, it's a relationship that was much more than their on-field rapport.
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