The Cincinnati Bengals have a major hole to address at quarterback. When Joe Burrow went down with a lower body injury, the Bengals started to struggle. After slipping to 2-3 with a 37-24 loss to the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati decided to make a move. The front office acquired Cleveland Browns veteran Joe Flacco in a trade to replace Jake Browning at quarterback.
In order to make space for Flacco to step in, the Bengals had to let go of one of their players. While most fans thought that Browning was the clear candidate, Cincinnati chose to keep him around. Instead, the front office decided to move on from Brett Rypien, cutting the veteran from its roster on Tuesday afternoon, according to ESPN's NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Burrow is out until at least late December. When he left the field in Week 2, experts were ready to write the Bengals off almost immediately. However, a disastrous season from the Baltimore Ravens opens up the door for Cincinnati to stay in the playoff race. However, Browning has been underwhelming as a full time starter. The Bengals hope that Flacco can give them a boost.
Cleveland picked Flacco as its starting quarterback before the season started. However, he lost his spot to Dillon Gabriel, who lost his first NFL start in London, England. The Browns seem committed to seeing what they have in their two rookie quarterbacks, sending Flacco to Cincinnati. Luckily for the Bengals, Flacco has proven that he is still capable of running an elite offense.
Rypien joined the Bengals' practice squad at the end of August. However, his time with the team is over as it tries to save its season. After struggling as the full-time starter, Browning will go back to the bench. Flacco, on the other hand, has a chance to re-create his magical run with the 2022-23 Browns on a new team.
