Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he was perplexed by the Cleveland Browns’ trade of quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tomlin’s Steelers are set to face the 40-year-old Flacco and the Bengals at Paycor Stadium on Thursday Night Football in NFL Week 7.
“To be honest, it was shocking to me,” Tomlin said. “(Browns general manager) 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.”
Taylor said Oct. 13 that “it was incredibly impressive” the way Flacco prepared for the Packers in Week 6 on such short notice, despite the Bengals’ 27-18 loss.
Tomlin also said it’s reasonable to expect Flacco to be significantly better in his second week with the Bengals.
Asked about Tomlin’s remarks about the trade and whether he was surprised that a division rival was willing to deal Flacco to Cincinnati, Taylor replied, “I was happy. I was happy. That’s my only comment.”
Browns linebacker Devin Bush shared his reaction to Tomlin’s remarks.
“He’s been in the AFC North his whole career,” Bush said. “He’s made a living here. He has a home here in the AFC North. So I’m sure when he’s seen that trade inside the same division, of course, it’s gonna put everybody on high alert because it’s an in-division trade. But that’s a call between the higher-ups, and whatever they got for it, I’m sure they liked it and they pulled the trigger.”
Asked about Tomlin’s opinion about the trade, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said he had no comment.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Steelers’ Mike Tomlin says Browns’ trade of Joe Flacco to Bengals ‘doesn’t make sense’
Reporting by Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
