Flacco has now guided Cincinnati to a 1-1 record over the past two weeks — a 27-18 defeat to the Green Bay Packers in Week 6 and a narrow 33-31 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday.
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Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow incurred a turf-toe injury in a 31-27 Week 2 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars, throwing Cincinnati's Super Bowl aspirations into disarray.
Reserve quarterback Jake Browning dropped three straight contests, prompting Cincinnati to trade with the Cleveland Browns for 40-year-old former Super Bowl MVP signal caller Joe Flacco.
Bengals approaching competence sans Burrow
It's unclear how long Burrow will be sidelined. For now, at least, Flacco is doing well under center. Four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson was a late scratch from the Steelers clash with a back injury, although imaging allegedly didn't reveal anything particularly concerning long-term.
Myles Murphy and Cam Sample have had to step up in Hendrickson's absence defensively.
During an appearance on the NFL Network's "The Insiders," NFL.com insider Ian Rapoport indicated that Cincinnati's recent success, without Burrows or Hendrickson, could poison the well for other teams looking to acquire the latter player.
"First of all, unbelievable job by the Bengals defense without one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL. Those moments where they rushed four or even sometimes three, and you just knew, like, if Hendrickson was out there, he'd be getting to [Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron] Rodgers — but he wasn't."
With Cincinnati managing to steady its season so far (it's now 3-4), Rapoport is skeptical that the team will try to offload its prize defender during the year.
"So where do things stand with Hendrickson? First of all, it was a hip injury he suffered. He really, really wanted to play last night. It was not to be. But the team essentially had to step in and go, 'You just can't do this. It's not safe.' As [head coach] Zac Taylor mentioned earlier today, there is confidence that Hendrickson should be back next week after the mini bye. That is a good thing."
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"What's also going on with Hendrickson is, he is a huge trade target. No doubt, any team that needs an edge rusher — from the 49ers, [to] the Eagles, [to] literally everyone — is going to call the Bengals and try to trade for Hendrickson."
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Florida Atlantic product, 30, paced the league in sacks last year with 17.5 per. This season, his four recorded sacks are tied for 16th. And keep in mind, he's missed a game.
"Two things I would keep in mind here," Rapoport continued. "One, it would be very un-Bengals-like to trade a really good player during the season and essentially say, 'We're gonna give up on the season.' I would be surprised if that happened... Two, it's going to be very expensive even if it does happen. The price that you and I were talking about when we were going over this in the summer, Tom, was a good younger player, like a real starter, and a mid-round pick. I'd expect the price to be somewhat similar [to that summer trade cost]."
More Bengals news:
- Joe Flacco outlasts Aaron Rodgers, leads Cincinnati to thrilling 'Thursday Night Football' win
- Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow sets loose timetable for return
- Trey Hendrickson injury update has Bengals fans convinced a trade is coming