Who Should I Start? Joe Flacco or Michael Penix Jr.

Monday, January 5, 12:37 PM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco isn't considering retirement, but he hopes to be "selective" in what comes next in his career, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. It's clear that Flacco wants to continue playing, and he's even open to coming back to Cincinnati, even if that would mean serving as Joe Burrow's backup. He's also open to fielding calls from a team that needs a signal-caller for next season. The 40-year-old began the 2025 season as the Cleveland Browns' starting QB before a midseason trade to the Bengals to help out while Burrow recovered from turf-toe surgery. The former Super Bowl champion proved that he still has something left in the tank, although he went just 2-8 in his 10 starts with the Browns and Bengals. Flacco completed 60.3% of his passes for 2,479 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 picks. At best, Flacco will be in play as a low-end QB2 in superflex leagues if he ends up playing a 19th NFL season and making more starts in 2026.

Wednesday, November 26, 1:06 PM

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said on Wednesday that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee) had successful surgery on his knee on Tuesday, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Penix had full reconstructive surgery to fix a partially torn ACL in his left knee, which will keep him out for the rest of this season and possibly for the start of the 2026 season next fall. The 25-year-old second-year signal-caller is facing a nine-month recovery, which will force Atlanta to rethink its long-term plan at the QB position this offseason. This is Penix's third ACL reconstruction in his career after he had two knee surgeries in college. Kirk Cousins will start the rest of the year under center for the Falcons, but depending on how he finishes the season, the Falcons could opt out of the final two seasons of his four-year deal.