Last week, the Browns shipped former starting quarterback Joe Flacco to the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals desperately needed a quarterback after Joe Burrow’s injury earlier this year and the struggles of Jake Browning. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin expressed his disagreement with the trade after his team’s victory in Week 6.
“To be honest it was shocking to me,” Tomlin said. “Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us, because it doesn’t make sense to me to trade a quarterback that you think enough of to make your opening-day starter to a division opponent that’s hurting in that area. But that’s just my personal feelings.”
NFL analyst believes Tomlin is ‘scared’ of Flacco
The Steelers are slated to play Flacco and the Bengals on Thursday Night Football in Week 7, and Tomlin is clearly annoyed that the Browns helped their rival out with the trade. This drama has led to one analyst to declare that Tomlin is “scared” of Flacco.
On Wednesday morning, Chris Mueller of 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, was a guest on “The Ken Carman Show” on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland.
Mueller was asked about Tomlin’s strong reaction to the Browns-Bengals trade, and the analyst raised an interesting suggesting. Mueller believes that Tomlin is mad that the Browns made the trade right before the Steelers play the Bengals because the coach is scared to play the veteran.
“Tomlin was heated about the trade before the Browns game was even played,” Mueller explained. “On some level, he’s afraid of Joe Flacco. It certainly means that he respects Joe Flacco, it certainly means that he takes Joe Flacco seriously. It’s because Joe Flacco knows the answers to the test.”
For the record, Joe Flacco is 11-11 in his career against Tomlin and the Steelers. The last time Flacco played against the Steelers was in 2024, when he led the Indianapolis Colts to a 27-24 victory.
It’s hard not to see Mueller’s point, though. If Tomlin didn’t think Flacco was at least somewhat a threat, he wouldn’t care about the trade taking place. So far in 2025, Flacco has thrown for 1,034 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Steelers and Bengals will kick off from Paycor Stadium on Thursday Night Football in Week 7. The Steelers enter with a 4-1 mark, while the Bengals come in at 2-4. After this week, the Steelers’ next games are against the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, and Los Angeles Chargers.