Joe Flacco gives out final words as Bengals QB1 amid Joe Burrow's return for Week 13

Joe Flacco’s tenure as the starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals is over as Joe Burrow returns from injury. The franchise traded for the veteran after Week 4, as backup Jake Browning couldn't live up to the expectations following the unfortunate injury to Burrow.

In his media availability on Monday, Flacco expressed his feelings after Bengals coach Zac Taylor made it known that Burrow could be returning to the lineup against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 13. He was grateful for the experience he's had in Cincinnati despite dropping to the bench.

“As a competitor, you always want to be out there on the field,” Flacco said. “This is what I live to do: go out in that field and play football. But at the same time, I feel really fortunate to have kind of found myself in this situation as much as I would have loved to see us win games.

“I still had a lot of fun here with these guys in the locker room. Going out, lacing them up with these guys has been a lot of fun. And I felt right at home, and I've had a blast doing it. And I don't think I really am looking anything past that.”

Joe Flacco has appeared in six games for the Bengals this season, leading them to a win in just one. He's thrown for 1,636 yards and 13 touchdowns with four interceptions, completing 61.6% of his passes. Despite his exploits, the Bengals’ NFL-worst defense hasn't helped in getting results.

Joe Flacco excited to see Joe Burrow return despite the mixed feelings

It's obviously not a good feeling for a quarterback to be dropping in the depth chart. Nonetheless, Joe Flacco noted that he's excited for Joe Burrow, who's undoubtedly one of the best quarterback talents in the NFL, to be returning to action despite the mixed feelings.

“I get it. I get how certain feelings could be involved with this,” Flacco said. “But in this case, it's easy for me to kind of put those aside and just look at the positives of the whole thing and be excited for another teammate trying to work his way back.”

“It might sound like crap and like I'm lying, and yeah, there is a tough part of not being out there. There always is. But I feel like I've put my head down and worked hard the last however long it's been, and I've had a lot of fun with these guys.”

Joe Burrow started the first two games of the season before suffering a turf toe injury. In his absence, Joe Flacco led the offense to some brilliant showings despite struggling with a shoulder injury. However, the veteran has experienced struggles in recent games.