Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made headlines on Monday by blasting Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry for trading quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals.
It was a head-scratcher to most, as division trades are extremely rare. It was surprising that Tomlin publicly criticized the move, however.
“To be honest, it was shocking to me,” Tomlin said Monday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “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.”
Former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who coached with Tomlin, agrees that the Browns trading Flacco in the division was ridiculous.
“That’s total b*******,” Arians said of the trade on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. “What are you thinking? First of all, Pittsburgh’s your big rival. Cincinnati is your next biggest rival. Why would you trade [Flacco] to Cincinnati? If I’m going to trade him, I might get a sixth-round pick from somewhere else. I ain’t going to trade him in the division.
On Sunday, the Bengals lost to the Green Bay Packers, 27-18. It was Flacco’s first game with Cincinnati after being traded by Cleveland, and he was pretty solid. He completed 29 of 45 passes (64.4) for 219 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 90.9.
“All of a sudden, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have 20 targets. Ja’Marr Chase has 10 receptions, almost 100 yards in one week. Couldn’t get the damn ball to him the other three weeks and now Pittsburgh has to play them on Thursday night,” Arians said.
“[Tomlin] does not want to see Joe and those receivers. He’s like, “s***, we had them right where we wanted them and they go and trade this guy to our division rivals? It makes no sense to me.”
"That's total bullshit..
If you're gonna trade a Quarterback trade him outside of the division" ~ @BruceArians #PMSLive https://t.co/5EhRHEGTgi pic.twitter.com/YKL0QRDoQD
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 14, 2025
Flacco is 11-11 in the regular season against the Steelers and 1-2 in the playoffs. Flacco beat the Steelers last year with the Indianapolis Colts when replacing an injured Anthony Richardson. Tomlin said a few weeks ago that he did not want to see the wily vet Flacco in that game.
“It certainly made sense from Cincinnati’s perspective,” Tomlin said of the Browns shipping Flacco to Cincinnati. “He can throw the football, and he’s always been able to throw the football. Arm strength, arm accuracy, anticipatory passer, fluid movement through progressions, that’s always been his game.”
In total, Flacco has passed for 206.8 yards per game this season. He’s playing his 18th season as a pro and also previously had stops with the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts.
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