John Harbaugh’s interested in the New York Giants trading for a veteran quarterback with young starter Jaxson Dart set to undergo season-ending knee surgery, so a reunion with Joe Flacco makes sense, right?
Flacco’s an obvious fit because of his lengthy history with Harbaugh. The pair won a Super Bowl together with the 2012 Baltimore Ravens, and Flacco is currently warming the bench for another AFC North franchise, the Cincinnati Bengals.
This trade almost makes too much sense not to happen. If only Flacco was open to joining the Giants. The 41-year-old gave a very different answer when asked by Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Kelsey Conway about trade rumors on Thursday, September 24.
Flacco, who also spent part of the 2025 season with yet another AFC North club, the Cleveland Browns, told Conway, “It’s obviously not real and not true, but it was good enough to get people like certain friends of mine to get them to text me, ‘hey, I’ll see you in New York.’ I was like, ‘no, guys, you won’t, that’s not true.'”
Flacco’s rejection leaves Harbaugh and the Giants to consider acquiring other fringe QBs. Fortunately, there are options, including a 96-touchdown passer who remains a possible free agent, while the Giants could explore a deal for a signal-caller with ties to another prominent member of their coaching staff.
Joe Flacco Stance Not a Mortal Wound for John Harbaugh
He spent 11 seasons working with Flacco after making him the 18th-overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft, so Harbaugh would have welcomed a familiar face at football’s most important position.
Not being able to reunite with Flacco needn’t be the death knell for Harbaugh’s search for reinforcements behind backup turned starter Jameis Winston. The latter is the next man up while Dart deals with surgery, but Winston appeared wholly unprepared once he stepped onto the field during the first quarter of the Giants’ ill-fated 28-6 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.
Winston’s below-par showing, which included posting a mediocre 40.7 completion percentage, is likely why Harbaugh’s willing to examine trade scenarios, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic. Unfortunately, those scenarios are fast becoming limited after a Giants insider cast doubt on a trade for a recent first-round pick.
One potential trade that’s still seemingly viable would surely suit one of Harbaugh’s most important coaches.
Matt Nagy Favorite Named Trade Fit for Giants
If Harbaugh doesn’t get to reunite with a former QB1, maybe offensive coordinator Matt Nagy can. It would happen if the Giants traded for Kansas City Chiefs’ backup Justin Fields.
The latter played for Nagy with the Chicago Bears in 2021. Fields entered the NFL as a first-round pick, but he’s traversed a nomadic footballing free-fall in recent years.
Fields was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, before playing at MetLife Stadium for the New York Jets last season.
He rates as somebody to watch for the Giants because, as Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post put it, “Patrick Mahomes looks great again, so Fields isn’t as needed as expected. Fields was a disaster in New York for the Jets last year, but he and Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy have a history.”
His brief history with Nagy aside, what makes Fields an intriguing candidate are his dual-threat skills. The 27-year-old’s a prolific runner from the quarterback position, something he shares with Dart.
Putting Fields into the mix would allow Nagy to keep many of the core concepts he’d installed for Dart. It’ll be a different story with the more static Winston, who fits more the Flacco model of playing quarterback.
Joe Flacco Responds to Giants Trade Rumors