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Joe Flacco Shoulder Injury Casts Doubt on his Availability for Week 9 Game against the Bears!

The Bengals need a healthy Joe Flacco for Sunday's game against the Bears!

Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images

Just when it looked like the Cincinnati Bengals may have found their savior of the season in the form of 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco, the latest update has put serious doubt over his participation in the upcoming game.

The Bengals’ next game is on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, and while there is still time, one must remember that at his age, Flacco may have a tougher time overcoming injuries, unlike the younger crop of players.

What Injury Is Joe Flacco Dealing With?

As per the report shared by NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Joe Flacco is dealing with an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder. This makes his status questionable for the upcoming game against the Bears.

Flacco is assumed to have suffered the injury sometime during last week’s game against the Jets. The veteran quarterback left the game, only to return later on, even though the Bengals ended up losing 38-39.

#Bengals QB Joe Flacco is dealing with an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder & his status is up in the air for Sunday vs the #Bears, sources say.

Flacco left the loss to the #Jets, then came back late. Coach Zac Taylor called him day-to-day. Jake Browning is the backup. pic.twitter.com/ZxblNXiY5N
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2025

Prior to Wednesday’s practice session, Bengals’ head coach Zac Taylor confirmed that Flacco would not be practicing and that the team will monitor his situation throughout the week and see how things stand. Taylor also commended Flacco on his desire to play on Sunday, but maintained that they will prepare for both outcomes.

Zac Taylor said that Joe Flacco is 50/50 to play on Sunday vs the Chicago Bears as he deals with an AC Joint injury.

Taylor credits the remarkable toughness of Flacco and how bought-in he is to the Cincinnati Bengals to even attempt to play through such a painful injury. pic.twitter.com/mHg98eRxJx
— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) October 29, 2025

How Does Flacco’s Absence Affect the Bengals?

If Flacco does not play on Sunday, it will surely be a big blow for Cincinnati. Already without their starting quarterback, Joe Burrow, the team was in shambles before they traded for Flacco.

While third-string QB Jake Browning is serviceable, he hasn’t been nearly as productive, leading the team to three losses in three starts. Nevertheless, if Flacco can’t play, the Bengals will have to roll with Browning, who has 6 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and a 70.5 passer rating in the four games he has played this year.

On the contrary, Flacco has 5 touchdown passes, no picks, and a passer rating above 100 in just the 2 games he has played for the Bengals. Inpsite the fact that Cincinnati is 1-1 with Flacco under center, the offense has looked much sharper with Ja’Marr Chase benefiting the most.

Ja'Marr Chase set a Bengals record in his second game with Joe Flacco 😮 pic.twitter.com/6dSmpOegfC
— ESPN (@espn) October 17, 2025

Chase has accumulated 252 receiving yards from 28 receptions and has been targeted nearly 20 times in both the games he has played with Flacco throwing the ball. Tee Higgins also has 140 receiving yards from just 7 catches and 12 targets during this time.

Cincinnati is currently at a crucial juncture of its season. With a 3-5 record, the Bengals are on the heels of the Steelers (4-3) for the top spot in the AFC North. With Baltimore getting Lamar Jackson back, the AFC North could once again become a highly competitive division, but for that, Flacco needs to be on the field.

Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!