Joe Flacco's last stand? Bengals QB faces uncertain future as Joe Burrow returns to practice

CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Flacco might have more starts for the Cincinnati Bengals under his belt than he has ahead of him. And it has nothing to do with the quarterback's injured right shoulder. The move Monday to open the 21-day window for Joe Burrow's return from a September turf-toe injury means Sunday in Pittsburgh could be one of the 40-year-old Flacco's last chances to play this season despite vaulting the Bengals to one of the most explosive teams in the NFL in his four starts. "I'm honestly not really thinking about it," said Flacco, who arrived in Cincinnati in a trade with the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 7. "It's not really a part of my process. I really don't care," Flacco added. "It's this week, and that's all that matters. To think about that stuff would be a distraction. I'm just worried about doing my job. And this week's that's going out and playing against Pittsburgh." Flacco suffered an AC joint injury to his throwing shoulder in his third start with the team, a 39-38 loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 26. He barely practiced the following week and didn't participate in pregame warmups hours before facing the Bears, yet Flacco still went out and threw for four touchdowns and 470 yards, the most in his 18-year career. Sunday will mark his second start against the Steelers in four games after throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-31 victory in Week 7. It also will be the 23rd start of Flacco's career against Pittsburgh, the most by any quarterback since Mike Tomlin became the Steelers' head coach in 2007. Despite having a bye week to rest the shoulder after his career day against the Bears, Flacco didn't practice Wednesday. The plan is for him to take limited reps Thursday and start Sunday afternoon against the Steelers. "It feels good," he said of his shoulder. "It was definitely good to have to have a whole week and get some rest and feel like I was making progress with it, which I did. It was sore (after the game), but it wasn't to the point where it was creating an issue." Everything about Flacco's time in Cincinnati has felt strange since the trade, from learning a new offense in the span of a few hours to following up his debut on a short week with a Thursday game to losing back-to-back games despite scoring 38 and 42 points. And he can add not practicing despite planning to start to the list. "I've never done it much besides the last two weeks," he said before outlining his goals on days such as Wednesday. "Ultimately, get the feet moving a little bit so you're not just standing around all day. Listening to the calls and getting the walk-through reps so that the operation is as smooth as possible. I think that's an underrated thing. Getting those reps and going through it is important." Flacco's arrival came as the result of Jake Browning's poor play in three starts after Burrow got hurt, and Browning admitted he was "pissed" about getting benched. Flacco navigated that unique situation, only to be facing yet another one four weeks later. Monday's move to clear Burrow to practice, along with his assertion that it would be "very" meaningful to make his return to action in Baltimore on Thanksgiving night, created a buzz in the building and across the city. It also came with the realization for Flacco that he is about to lose his job. But he said that hasn't created any sort of weird or awkward dynamic between the quarterbacks. "Not at all. I have a job to do, and I'm focused on doing that job," Flacco said. "If that comes to an end at some point, I just want to feel good about the job that I'm doing when I'm asked to do that job."