Joe Flacco garnered interest from the Las Vegas Raiders, among other teams, but opted to return to the Cincinnati Bengals and agreed to a one-year deal, multiple reports said Tuesday.

Per ESPN, the contract is $6 million, though incentives could elevate the deal to $9 million.

Flacco, 41, is entering his 19th NFL season after filling in for an injured Joe Burrow last season. With Bengals backup Jake Browning struggling, the Bengals shipped a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Flacco and a 2026 sixth-round pick. Browning joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this month.

In nine games (six starts) with Cincinnati in 2025, Flacco threw for 1,664 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 61.7% of his passes. He threw for a career-high 470 yards in a loss to the Chicago Bears despite playing with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder.

Flacco made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2026 as a replacement at the Pro Bowl Games.

The MVP of Super Bowl XLVII with the Baltimore Ravens, who selected him in the first round (No. 18 overall) in 2008, Flacco has 272 touchdown passes and 172 interceptions, along with 48,176 passing yards in his career. Before joining the Bengals, Flacco also played for the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Browns.

–Field Level Media

For players trying to stick in the NBA, injuries have opened opportunities to make a splash with the Utah Jazz.

Utah has been getting meaningful minutes from players on 10-day contracts heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Washington Wizards in Salt Lake City. The Jazz have been able to plug players into an injury-depleted roster while giving them a chance to earn a permanent NBA roster spot in the near future.

Bez Mbeng, who graduated from Yale last year, made his NBA debut on March 13. He is on his second 10-day contract with the Jazz and, through six games, averages 4.2 points, 3.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals over 31.0 minutes per game. Mbeng had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go with seven assists and six rebounds in his first career start Saturday against Philadelphia.

Kennedy Chandler, who had a small role for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2022-23 as a rookie, has been an immediate revelation for Utah. Chandler, 23, signed a 10-day contract on Saturday and has averaged 16.0 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in his first two games with the Jazz. He posted a career-high nine assists to go with 13 points in a 143-127 loss to Toronto on Monday.

“There are definitely moments that are surprising in a fun way, but desperation is a heck of a thing,” Utah coach Will Hardy told the Deseret News. “And I think when people get opportunities like this, that are very finite — you signed a 10-day contract — you can treat that like a sprint. I think that all of the guys that we’ve had on 10-days this year have been outstanding.”

Ace Bailey also came up big for the Jazz in the loss to the Raptors, pouring in a career-high 37 points. Bailey has averaged 19.4 points per game in 14 games since the NBA All-Star break. He also has shot 40.2% from 3-point range while hitting 3.5 threes per game over that stretch.

“I still want to learn,” Bailey told KSL.com. “There’s a lot for me to learn, so I feel like I’m always open to learn. You just, obviously, want to be the best, and it comes with work.”

Washington has lost 16 straight games coming into Salt Lake City, which means a defeat against the Jazz will set the franchise record for longest losing streak. Wizards opponents have averaged 130.6 points per game over their last 10 contests.

Like the Jazz, many key Washington players are sidelined with injuries and it has opened a door for other players to make their mark. Tristan Vukcevic is one of those players.

Vukcevic has made a name for himself as an outside shooter and interior defender over the past two months. He shot 48.4% from 3-point range (15 of 31) in February and has hit 41.5% (17 of 41) from beyond the arc in March. Defensively, Vukcevic has contested 10.9 shots per 36 minutes this season.

The 7-footer’s increased activity on defense and efficient shooting on offense give him a real chance to stick with the Wizards beyond this season.

“The one thing I’ve always been impressed with Tristan, and that was from Day 1, when he walked into our gym here two years ago, is that he’s not scared,” Washington coach Brian Keefe told the Athletic. “He’s played in all types of environments in his life. There’s no fear from him. He’s going to attack the game.”

Utah won the previous meeting, beating the Wizards 122-112 on March 6 behind 32 points from Bailey.

–Field Level Media

The San Antonio Spurs are building momentum as the season winds down, a push that is putting pressure on Western Conference leader Oklahoma City.

San Antonio defeated the Miami Heat 136-111 on Monday for its sixth consecutive victory and 10th in 11 games. The Spurs (54-18) might be able to sneak a step closer to the Thunder on Wednesday as they visit the slumping, injury-riddled Memphis Grizzlies (24-47) while Oklahoma City (57-15) travels to face Boston.

The Spurs are an NBA-best 22-2 since Feb. 1 and clinched their first playoff berth since 2019 last Thursday. They are in second place in the Western Conference and just three games back of the defending champion Thunder, who have maintained a grip on first place behind a 12-game win streak.

The combination of the Spurs’ victory over Miami and Houston’s 132-124 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday allowed San Antonio to clinch the Southwest Division title.

For the Spurs, 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama has re-established the franchise and lifted it back into title contention. Wembanyama had 26 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in 26 minutes at Miami for his fourth 26-15-5 game of the season. Only one other player — injured Memphis big man Zach Edey — has posted a 26-15-5 game this season. That came in November before ankle issues sidelined him for the year.

Wembanyama, 22, has had 11 games this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. The third-year pro averages 24.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and a league-best 3.0 blocks per game.

“He is something that we haven’t seen,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “He affects as much of the game, in every single way, on the court on both ends with or without the ball and what the other team tries to do on both sides, in my very ignorant opinion, as much as any player I’ve ever seen. He is someone who touches every bit of our program.”

Memphis dropped a 146-107 decision to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday for its third straight loss and 11th in 12 games.

Without rotation players Cam Spencer (low back soreness), Javon Small (low back soreness) and rookie Cedric Coward (personal reasons), the Grizzlies were not competitive in the loss. They trailed by 10 at the end of the first quarter and 71-46 at halftime. The Hawks scored 45 points in the third and built a 116-75 advantage entering the final quarter.

Memphis got 26 points from GG Jackson along with 20 points and eight rebounds from Tyler Burton off the bench. Burton was signed to a second 10-day contract earlier this week, as was DeJon Jarreau, to assist the Grizzlies in piecing together a roster to close out their injury-plagued season.

But with star guard Ja Morant likely out the rest of the season with an elbow injury he sustained in late January — he has appeared in only 20 games this season — and with surgeries ending the seasons for Edey, Scotty Pippen Jr. (toe) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (finger), the Grizzlies’ final 11 games will be challenging.

Monday night might have been a blueprint. The undersized Grizzlies were outrebounded 44-34 by the Hawks and committed 21 turnovers, 10 more than Atlanta. The Hawks made 25 of 54 3-point attempts.

“We had too many turnovers and we couldn’t rebound against them,” Memphis coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “And on top of that, they capitalized in transition and shot the ball very well.”

–Field Level Media