The Cincinnati Bengals need to have a solid backup quarterback in place, as seen by recent history.
On April 23, they signed quarterback Jake Browning to a two-year contract that keeps him with the Bengals through 2025, securing their backup plan and ensuring the team has a solid option in case starting quarterback Joe Burrow gets hurt again. ESPN was the first to report on the signing.
The 28-year-old Browning, an exclusive rights free agency, led the NFL in completion % (70.3) and went 4-3 in seven starts in 2023 while throwing for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. Being the only quarterback for the Bengals to do it since Boomer Esiason in 1984, Browning won three of his first four starts.
Burrow had a wrist injury that ended the 2023 season and required surgery; he should be back to full strength by the beginning of the 2024 campaign. Burrow missed the final seven games in 2023.
After sustaining a serious knee injury in 2020, Burrow experienced a season-ending injury for the second time in four seasons.
Logan Woodside, who has been a backup quarterback for the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons for the previous five seasons, was signed by the Bengals as well. Woodside could end up being their third-string quarterback.
Blake Browning Recorded QBs Prior to joining the Bengals, Browning was a two-time California Gatorade Player of the Year at Folsom (Calif.) High School, where he also set passing records at the state and national levels.
Browning set the national record for throwing touchdowns (229) and the California state records for pass completions (1,191), pass attempts (1,708), and passing yards (16,775) at Folsom High.
With 91 touchdown passes as a senior, Browning set a record for the nation’s single-season passing yards and 5,790 passing yards in California.
Browning played every game for four years while at the University of Washington, becoming just the second true freshman in school history to start the season as the starting quarterback. He won two Pac-12 titles and helped the Huskies make it to the College Football Playoffs for the first time in 2016.
In terms of career passing yards (12,296), career passing touchdowns (94), and single-season passing touchdowns (43), Browning continues to hold the marks for Washington.
A pass on Jake Browning in the 2019 NFL Draft
Despite his achievements in college, Browning was not selected in the 2019 NFL Draft and played for the Minnesota Vikings for three seasons as a practice squad member. NFL analyst Lance Zierlein attributed this to two shoulder injuries that Browning sustained in 2015 and 2016.
In 2019, Zierlein stated, “Browning is a college game-manager whose success is tied to his talent at receiver.” “Browning can step up to the plate when necessary, but he hasn’t been able to do it during the past two seasons, and he lacks intangibles, stature, or arm strength. It will be difficult for him to secure a roster place as a late-round to undrafted talent.
Browning spent 2021 and 2022 on the practice squad for the Bengals before beating out Trevor Siemian to be Burrow’s backup in the 2023 preseason.
In September 2023, Browning made his NFL debut against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter. It had been five years since he had participated in a regular-season game at any level.
