Joe Flacco Named to First Career Pro Bowl

Flacco will fill in for Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, who had surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot this month.

Joe Flacco #16 of the Cincinnati Bengals warms up prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, on Dec. 28, 2025. Ben Jackson /Getty Images

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco was named to his first Pro Bowl.

Flacco was named to the Pro Bowl to replace Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who had surgery on his foot this month. It is the first selection for Flacco in an 18-year career. He is the second quarterback from the Cleveland Browns to be named to the Pro Bowl this season, after rookie Shedeur Sanders was selected earlier this week.

The Bengals made the announcement on their official website on Jan. 30.

Flacco began the season with the Cleveland Browns, competing for and eventually winning the starting quarterback job. He appeared in four games for Cleveland, going 1–3 as a starter; completing 93 of 160 passes for 815 yards and two touchdowns. But he also threw 6 interceptions and lost 2 fumbles. He was benched in Week 5 for rookie Dillon Gabriel.

When Bengals starter Joe Flacco went down with a turf toe injury, the Browns made a rare midseason intra-division trade, shipping Flacco and a sixth-round draft pick to Cincinnati in exchange for a fifth-round pick. In Cincinnati, Flacco went 1–5 as the starter, completing 158 of 256 passes for 1,664 yards and 13 TDs with just 4 interceptions and a fumble. He had another first this season against the Chicago Bears in Week 9. He completed 31 of 47 passes for 470 yards and 4 touchdowns with 2 interceptions in a 47–42 loss; it was his first career game with 400 or more passing yards.

Flacco steps in to replace Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen. Allen was initially listed as the starter, but appeared with crutches and a walking boot this week. He revealed at a press conference on Jan. 27 that he underwent surgery to fix a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot.

“I had a little broken bone in there,” Allen said. “[T]hey went and took it out and cleaned it up. Obviously not ideal situation, painful throughout the weeks, but [on] game day, [it was a] different story, just being able to put that to the side and just go out there and play football.”

Allen said it was an older injury that was aggravated in the Bills’ Week 16 win over the Browns.

Flacco is technically the second Browns quarterback to make the Pro Bowl after his former teammate and understudy, Shedeur Sanders. Sanders was selected as the alternate for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who will play in Super Bowl LX. This makes the Browns the first team to send two of their quarterbacks to the Pro Bowl.

Sanders (and Flacco) will join defensive end Myles Garrett—who set the NFL’s single-season sack record with 23 in 2025—and cornerback Denzel Ward as Cleveland’s representatives in the Pro Bowl.

Sanders is the first Browns quarterback to be named to the Pro Bowl since Derek Anderson in 2007. He is the eighth Browns quarterback to appear in the Pro Bowl after Anderson, Bernie Kosar, Brian Stipe, Bill Nelsen, Frank Ryan, Milt Plum, and Otto Graham. He is also the seventh Browns rookie to make a Pro Bowl, and the first since Ward’s rookie season in 2018. He was the only member of the Browns’ rookie class to be named.

“Thank you, God. I’m beyond excited and extremely grateful for all the love and support from the coaches, players, and fans,” Sanders said in a statement on the Browns’ website. “This wouldn’t be possible without the support behind me. Still plenty of work to do.”

Allen’s injury is another complication that forced the NFL to dig deep for QBs to play in next week’s Pro Bowl Games. Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the Divisional Round win against Allen and the Bills. Kansas City Chiefs QB and perennial Pro Bowler Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL against Herbert and the Chargers in December. Indianapolis Colts QB Daniel Jones had his season derailed by a fractured fibula and an Achilles tear. Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson also suffered a lower back injury late in the season, though he did play the Ravens’ regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On the NFC side, the Philadelphia Eagles announced that QB Jalen Hurts was named to the Pro Bowl as well, filling in for Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford.