CINCINNATI -- When news of his trade to the Cincinnati Bengals started making the rounds, Joe Flacco's phone lit up with a photo from a familiar friend.
Tyrod Taylor, his former teammate and backup quarterback in Baltimore, sent Flacco a picture of a pair of orange cleats they wore with the Ravens when they won Super Bowl XLVII.
"He was like, 'Dude, you gotta bust these out!" Flacco told ESPN this week.
Back then, Flacco was in the midst of an 11-year stretch as the Ravens' starter, a run that included 163 starts and a lot of success. Taylor was a fledgling quarterback who later earned a chance to start with the Buffalo Bills.
Now they find themselves in different stage of their careers but with a similar title: coveted backup. Over the years, teams have leaned on Flacco and Taylor as reliable emergency options as they check the boxes teams are looking for.
"If guys can get to their early 30s into their mid-30s and they're still doing it physically, well, now they've seen it all," Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. "Guys that can do that and are also good people, good teammates, positive influences in the room, that's how guys can play until they're 40 if they want."
Taylor, 36, still has a few more years until he joins Flacco in the 40-and-over QB club. That club includes Aaron Rodgers (41), whose Pittsburgh Steelers were beaten by Flacco 33-31 last week.
Flacco and Taylor both have proved to be among the NFL's most sought-after journeymen in the second acts of their careers. Between them, they have 33 years of combined NFL experience and have been acquired by 14 teams a total of 14 times.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn refused to name a starter for the game against the Bengals, citing competitive advantages. But at NFL league meetings in New York this week, team owner Woody Johnson took fire at quarterback Justin Fields, who has struggled as a starter.
That leaves Taylor as the other option. Sunday's game at Paycor Stadium (1 p.m. ET, CBS) could mark the second time Taylor and Flacco have started the same game. In 2016, the Ravens beat Taylor's Bills in the season opener.
Flacco began his career in 2008 as a first-round pick of the Ravens, who he led to victory as the MVP in Super Bowl XLVII. But once the Ravens drafted Lamar Jackson, Flacco was dealt to the Denver Broncos in March 2019. He played just one season in Denver before suffering a herniated disc in his neck that ended his season.
Bengals offensive guard Dalton Risner was with Flacco in Denver at the time. Five years later, Risner's experience with Flacco remains the same. No matter each weekly outcome, Flacco remains consistent in his approach.
That consistency, along with being in a constant state of being prepared, is crucial to holding a job as a back-up quarterback.
"I've had a lot of them," Risner told ESPN. "For me, it's their habits when they're not the guy.
"You can either be a backup and accept that role and chill to an extent. Or you can be a backup and say, 'Hey, at any given point, I'm the guy that's going in, I got to be dialed on every level.' For me, those are the guys that you see go in and have a lot of success."
It's easy to find those who say being back-up quarterback is one of the best jobs in sports -- a way to collect a handsome paycheck while not taking having to face 300-pound defensive linemen on every dropback.
But that argument fails to account for how mentally taxing it is for players in that position, especially ones who believe they can help a team win games.
"I know the grind of being a starter -- and I don't want to downplay that," Flacco said. "But when you want to be the guy and you're not the guy, you can lose confidence. And a lot of bad things can happen in your mind. And it's trying to find ways to not allow that to happen. And it's not very easy when you're not playing."
It can be hard while being on the field, too. Between 2020 and 2022, Flacco appeared in 12 games for the Jets as a fill-in quarterback. He started nine games. The team won just one of them.
There were times Flacco drove down the New Jersey Turnpike and questioned why things were not going well for him. Years later, he said that while he didn't like the on-field results, he appreciated his time there.
The Jets and the Browns are the two teams who have hired Flacco twice. In his first spell with Cleveland, he was named the NFL Comeback Player in 2023.
Risner, a onetime starter who finds himself in a similar spot in his career as Flacco, can understand why the Bengals tabbed Flacco to run their offense while Joe Burrow (turf toe) is on injured reserve and why Cincinnati (3-4) is on the verge of getting back to the .500 mark.
And it has nothing to do with money.
"Joe Flacco don't need a check, bro," Risner said. "He's not doing this for money. ... This is for the love of the game. You look at a guy like that and you say he loves ball. He wants to leave a legacy. He wants to impact this league.
"He knows he's still got it. And you got to just respect that."