The Cincinnati Bengals spent most of the past three seasons with Jake Browning working as the backup quarterback behind Joe Burrow. Browning’s best stretch came during the 2023 campaign after Burrow went down with an injury.
He stepped in and helped the team pick up four wins across the final seven games of the year. The Bengals called on him again in 2025 when Burrow dealt with a turf toe injury. The results were not nearly as strong this time around. Browning guided the Bengals to a win in Week 2, but things fell apart over the next three outings.
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He finished that stretch completing 64.8% of his passes for 771 yards while throwing six touchdowns against eight interceptions. The team responded by bringing in Joe Flacco from Cleveland before Week 6, and Browning eventually slid down to the No. 3 spot on the depth chart by the end of the season.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bengals chose not to place a tender on restricted free agent quarterback Jake Browning ahead of free agency. Browning will enter the open market instead of remaining with the team under restricted terms.
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“The Bengals are not tendering RFA quarterback Jake Browning, who started 10 games over three seasons for Cincinnati in relief of Joe Burrow. He will be a free agent. Cincinnati is open to bringing him back,” Fowler wrote on X.
The Bengals are not tendering RFA quarterback Jake Browning, who started 10 games over three seasons for Cincinnati in relief of Joe Burrow. He will be a free agent. Cincinnati is open to bringing him back.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 9, 2026
Browning’s journey to the NFL has not followed a traditional path since leaving the Washington Huskies in 2019. The Minnesota Vikings brought him in as an undrafted free agent, but he was released following the preseason. The Vikings brought him back to the practice squad, and that pattern repeated itself multiple times.
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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning walks the field during warmups before the first quarter of the NFL Week 14 game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium.
He signed a futures contract for 2020 but got waived after camp, spending the year on the practice squad before inking another futures deal heading into 2021. Minnesota cut him again after the 2022 preseason.
Browning landed with the Bengals after that, though Cincinnati also waived him initially before adding him to the practice squad. The team promoted him to the active roster later in the year. His opportunity expanded during Burrow’s 2023 injury, and the Bengals rewarded him with a two-year deal as an exclusive rights free agent.
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