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Ben Baby
CINCINNATI — The chances that quarterback Joe Flacco suits up for the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend are much better than they were a few days ago.
Flacco, who is dealing with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder, said he felt “pretty good” after throwing ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears. While Flacco and Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn’t name Flacco the outright starter, midweek returns suggested the 40-year-old is trending favorably.
“I thought he did a nice job out there,” Taylor said. “I saw what we would hope to see for a guy to be able to play on Sunday. Now we’ll just work through the next few days to see where it ends up.”
Flacco will officially be listed as questionable for the home contest against Chicago (4-3). During Friday’s practice, Flacco was in uniform but was a spectator during the open portion of practice. Taylor said backup quarterback Jake Browning took the reps Wednesday and Friday to prepare.
“Everybody is ready to roll,” Taylor said.
Flacco, who has thrown seven touchdowns and no interceptions since being acquired via trade ahead of Week 6, has expressed a desire to play if possible. He said the injury has shown daily improvement but can also be aggravated as well.
Throughout his 18-year career, Flacco said he has always had the mindset of doing everything possible to play. That included missing the birth of his second child for a Week 2 during the 2013 season, when he led the Baltimore Ravens to a victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Over a decade later, that mentality isn’t changing as the Bengals (3-5) try to secure a much-needed win ahead of their bye week.
“That was always just the mindset — just getting to the point where I can [play] and working toward that,” Flacco said. “I think with this specifically, it was always going to come down to if [I] just can’t. But I think mindset-wise, I am until I just know I can’t.”
