It is very rare for an NFL player to play for every team in a particular division. They may be devoutly loyal to one franchise or another and aren’t willing to suit up for a rival against former teammates.
It’s also unlikely that someone can last long enough in the league to have time to make the full rounds. Yet, Joe Flacco isn’t like most players.
The former Cleveland Browns quarterback finished this season with the Cincinnati Bengals. He started his career with the Baltimore Ravens and won a Super Bowl there.
Now, with the 41-year-old considering putting off retirement, Flacco is hinting that he could join the Pittsburgh Steelers, which would complete the AFC North cycle.
“There’s something about the Steelers that seems a little bit different because they were our rival for so many years,” Flacco said. “But at the end of the day, I play football because I love it. It is a job of mine. If somebody is hiring me, that is a pretty big deal.”
The Steelers would be the seventh team that Flacco would have played for in what would become a 19-year NFL career. He also had stops with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and Indianapolis Colts. Interestingly, all of those teams are in the AFC.
Flacco originally joined the Browns late in the 2023 season, when he was out of the league, and it seemed his career had already come to an end. He helped Cleveland to a surprising playoff berth but was not offered a contract to stay and left to join the Colts.
He was brought back to Cleveland this past offseason as part of a four-man preseason quarterback competition with Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. Flacco emerged as the starter but did not play well and was benched in favor of Gabriel. He was then traded to the Bengals, which was a debated move at the time.
With Joe Burrow sidelined, Flacco was brought in to replace Jake Browning, then became Burrow’s backup when he returned from injury. Flacco also hasn’t ruled out a return in that role for Cincinnati.
It is unknown what the Steelers’ interest would be, having hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach and with quarterback Aaron Rodgers also unsure about retirement, but if they want to have another 40-something running their offense, Flacco would fit that bill.
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