Cincinnati Bengals QB Jake Browning starts vs. Denver Broncos on MNF.
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Cincinnati Bengals QB Jake Browning starts vs. Denver Broncos on MNF.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued an underwhelming offseason by kicking off the official start of the new NFL season by
“Free agent QB Jake Browning plans to sign with the Tampa Bay Bucs on a one-year deal, per source,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on Wednesday. “From backing up Joe Burrow to Baker Mayfield.”
Browning backed up Joe Burrow on the Cincinnati Bengals the last 3 seasons, including going 4-3 as a starter and leading the NFL in completion percentage (70.4) in 2023.
From NFL Researcher’s official X account: “Jake Browning went 4-3 in 7 starts for the Bengals in 2023 (as starter): 71.5 comp pct (led NFL), 266.9 pass YPG (6th in NFL), 8.2 pass yds/att (4th in NFL), 99.1 passer rating (7th in NFL).”
In 3 seasons, Browning is 4-6 starting in place of Burrow.
“Bucs plan to sign QB Jake Browning to a one year deal,” Tampa Bay Times NFL reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account. “Baker Mayfield has his backup.”
Browning Played Out 2-Year Contract With Bengals
Browning, 28, was an exclusive rights free agent who went 4-3 in 7 starts in 2023, throwing for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions as he won 3 of his first 4 starts — the first Bengals quarterback to do so since Boomer Esiason in 1984.
That landed him a 2-year, $1.975 million contract with the Bengals before the 2024 season.
Burrow missed the last seven games of 2023 with a season-ending wrist injury that required surgery but should be healthy for the start of the 2024 season.
It was the second time in four seasons that Burrow suffered a season-ending injury, following a major knee injury in 2020. In 2025, Browning went 0-3 in place of an injured Burrow before he was replaced by Joe Flacco.
Jake Browning Set QB Records Before Bengals
Browning first gained notoriety at Folsom (Calif.) High School, where he was a two-time California Gatorade Player of the Year and set national and state passing records.
At Folsom High, Browning set the California state records for pass completions (1,191), pass attempts (1,708), and passing yards (16,775) while setting the national record for passing touchdowns (229).
As a senior, Browning set a national single-season record with 91 touchdown passes and the California single-season record with 5,790 passing yards.
At the University of Washington, Browning became just the second true freshman to open the season as the starting quarterback in school history and started every game for four years, winning two Pac-12 championships and leading the Huskies to the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2016.
Browning still owns Washington records for career passing yards (12,296), career passing touchdowns (94), and single-season passing touchdowns (43).
Jake Browning Passed Over in 2019 NFL Draft
Despite his college accolades, Browning went undrafted in 2019 and spent three seasons on the practice squad for the Minnesota Vikings — a fact NFL analyst Lance Zierlein attributed largely to a pair of shoulder injuries in 2015 and 2016.
“Browning is a college game-manager whose success is tied to his talent at receiver,” Zierlein wrote in 2019. “Browning has moments where he can rise to the occasion, but he’s failed to sustain it over the last two seasons and he doesn’t have the size, arm strength or intangibles to fall back on. He is a late-round to undrafted prospect with an uphill battle to earn a roster spot.”