The Bears are right back to guessing which quarterback they’ll face as Bengals veteran Joe Flacco deals with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder. He didn’t practice Wednesday, and coach Zac Taylor said the decision could go all the way to Sunday morning regardless of whether he practices ahead of the Bears’ visit to Cincinnati.
“If anybody in this league can get by on minimal reps, it’s him,” Taylor said of Flacco, a former Super Bowl MVP who is in his 18th season.
He added that it’s a severe enough injury that many players would say they can’t play, especially with Bengals having a bye week next, but Flacco has indicated he’ll do everything possible to be available.
If he’s not, the Bengals will start backup Jake Browning and elevated practice-squad quarterback Sean Clifford as a contingency. Franchise quarterback Joe Burrow is on injured reserve after hurting his toe in Week 2.
The Bears went through this kind of rigamarole last week when the Ravens indicated quarterback Lamar Jackson was trending toward a return for their game, only to rule him out the day before and go with backup Tyler Huntley.
It’s not quite as dramatic as uncertainty about a two-time MVP’s availability — Huntley had his way with the Bears anyway in a 30-16 win — but the trade for Flacco three weeks ago has given the 3-5 Bengals hope to salvage their season.
They averaged 12.3 points in Browning’s three starts, all losses, but spiked to 29.7 in three games with Flacco. Flacco had a 60.3 passer rating with the Browns to start the season, but has been much better for the Bengals: 64.3 completion percentage, seven touchdown passes, no interceptions, 261.3 yards per game and a 100.1 passer rating.
“They have gone through the quarterback carousel, but since Flacco has been there they’ve looked like a different team,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said.
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