Bengals' Jake Browning: Works only in mop-up duty in 2024
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Browning didn't throw a pass over three regular-season games in 2024. He rushed twice for minus-2 yards.
A season-ending injury to Joe Burrow in Week 11 of 2023 gave Browning an opportunity for substantial playing time, but Burrow remained healthy throughout 2024, and Browning consequently spent almost the entire campaign on the bench. Browning signed a two-year contract with Cincinnati last April, so he's slated to work as Burrow's backup again next season.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Out with rib injury
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Browning (ribs) won't play in Saturday's preseason game against Chicago, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.
Browning played in the preseason opener but threw for only 52 yards on 18 pass attempts, and he then missed practice this week with a rib injury sustained during the game. Coach Zac Taylor said he expects the QB to "miss some time" but didn't go into further detail.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Struggles in preseason opener
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Browning and the Bengals' second-team offense struggled in the preseason opener against the Bucs. Browning ended up completing 10 passes on 18 attempts for only 52 yards and an interception.
Browning helmed seven drives against the Bucs, with only one lasting more than three plays, and that one ended in a missed field goal. It's only one preseason game, but Browning did not build off of last season's better-than-expected performance.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Signed through 2025
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Browning signed a two-year contract with the Bengals on Tuesday.
Undrafted back in 2019, the QB spent two years on Minnesota's practice squad and then two seasons on Cincinnati's. Browning finally got his shot in 2023, winning the No. 2 QB job for the Bengals and eventually replacing an injured Joe Burrow (wrist) for the final seven and a half games of the season. Browning played surprisingly well down the stretch, with 15 total TDs (three rushing) and seven turnovers (all INTs) while leading all qualified passers in completion percentage (70.4) and ranking fifth in yards per attempt (8.0). The 28-year-old's status as an exclusive-rights free agent this offseason essentially locked him into staying with the Bengals, and the two-year deal now sets him up to be a restricted free agent after 2025. His solid performance in 2023, combined with 2-3 more years of team control, could make Browning a trade target for QB-needy teams, though there haven't been rumblings of interest this spring.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Throws three TDs in Week 18 win
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Browning completed 18 of 24 passes for 156 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 31-14 win over the Browns. He added 18 yards on two rushing attempts.
Browning was picked off on Cincinnati's first possession but led touchdown drives on the next three. That stretch included a six-yard touchdown pass to Joe Mixon and a three-yard touchdown pass to Andrei Iosivas, as well as a Mixon rushing touchdown. Browning added a seven-yard touchdown pass to Iosivas in the third quarter. After Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury in Week 11, Browning threw for 1,936 yards with a 12:7 TD:INT and three rushing touchdowns in seven starts and one relief appearance. Browning's strong finish is likely to earn the 27-year-old quarterback at least a backup role next season, be it in Cincinnati or elsewhere.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Held in check in Week 17 loss
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Browning completed 19 of 33 passes for 197 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions in Sunday's 25-17 loss to the Chiefs. He added seven rushes for 32 yards and an additional score.
Browning got the Bengals' offense off to a hot start, as the team recorded 17 points through their first three possessions. In that span, he threw a seven-yard touchdown to Joe Mixon and also bowled through several defenders on a one-yard rush into the end zone. However, the team failed to score again, and Browning's stat line suffered. He's played admirably in relief of Joe Burrow (wrist) since Week 11, though he could be in a tough spot in a Week 18 matchup against the Browns with both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins currently playing at less than 100 percent.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Three interceptions in Week 16 loss
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Browning completed 28 of 42 passes for 335 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions in Saturday's 34-11 loss to the Steelers. He also threw a two-point conversion and rushed once for no gain.
Browning had a few key errors that contributed to Cincinnati's 24-0 halftime deficit. He threw a ball up for grabs for an interception in Pittsburgh's end zone in the first quarter, then tossed another interception in the second quarter before adding an incompletion on fourth-and-1 from Pittsburgh's five-yard line just before the two-minute warning in the first half. Browning connected with Tee Higgins for an 80-yard touchdown on his first pass of the second half and followed it up with a two-point conversion to Joe Mixon, but he proceeded to throw another interception and another incomplete pass on fourth down as the Bengals failed to cut further into the deficit. Despite his numerous turnovers, Browning exceeded 300 passing yards for the third time in the last four games. He'll look to bounce back in Week 17 against the Chiefs.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Big second half in 324-yard effort
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Browning completed 29 of 42 pass attempts for 324 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the 27-24 overtime win against the Vikings on Saturday.
Browning mostly struggled in the first half, though he narrowly missed two big throws -- one to Charlie Jones and one to Tee Higgins -- and he would have had a much bigger game if either of those targets had landed. Browning would go on to hit Higgins for two touchdown strikes in the second half, which is an encouraging sign given that Browning had otherwise shown hints of growing dependent on YAC yardage from his running backs and tight ends. The problem is that Ja'Marr Chase left the game with a shoulder injury, and it's not clear if he'll be available as Browning and the Bengals head to Pittsburgh in Week 16.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Sit Him (Lineup Decisions)
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Browning has been excellent at locating open targets over his three starts, but he's doing so without pushing the ball far downfield. Of his 87 pass attempts in those starts, 63 traveled nine or fewer Air Yards while nine went 15 or more yards downfield. That's a pretty telling sign that he's been much more of a distributor than a gunslinger. He also has thrown ONE pass into the end zone in those three games. The Vikings will bring a blitz-heavy pass rush and a zone-heavy coverage unit behind; they've allowed a league-high 84.8% catch rate in their past four games, but for just 7.2 yards per catch with 10 completions of 20-plus yards and three receiving touchdowns. Browning's pass protection should hold up, but it's really tough to expect him to keep finding big plays against arguably the best defensive unit he's seen this season. One QB has thrown two touchdowns against the Vikings in their past nine games.
Browning actually came out higher than Minshew in the first run of my projections, but his floor is much lower. Still, when you have Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd the job isn't as difficult as it is in some places.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Elite numbers in primetime upset
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Browning completed 32 of 37 passes for 354 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in the Bengals' 34-31 overtime win over the Jaguars on Monday night. He also rushed twice for 22 yards and another score and brought in his only target for minus-7 yards.
Browning was near perfect in a performance no one could have seen coming, with the fourth-year pro averaging 9.6 yards per attempt and connecting with eight different targets on the night. His one touchdown toss, a 76-yard pass to Ja'Marr Chase down the left sideline early in the third quarter, broke a 14-14 tie at the time, and the emerging signal-caller added a one-yard rushing touchdown early in the fourth before eventually calmly leading a game-winning 12-play drive in overtime. Browning has completed a jaw-dropping 81.0 percent of his passes over his first two starts while compiling three total touchdowns and only one interception in those contests, affording him an avalanche of momentum heading into a Week 14 home matchup against the Colts.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Week 12 Waiver Priority List
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Browning is the likely starter for the Bengals for the rest of the season with Joe Burrow (wrist) hurt, and hopefully Browning can take advantage of the talent around him to succeed as a low-end starter in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues. He replaced Burrow in Week 11 at Baltimore and was 8-of-14 passing for 68 yards and a touchdown, and he also added 40 rushing yards. Ideally, Browning leans on Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins (when healthy), Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon, and those players can help elevate Browning's production. He doesn't have an easy schedule coming up, starting with Pittsburgh in Week 12. However, Browning is worth adding in all Superflex and two-quarterback leagues for 5-10 percent of your FAB.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Makes bid for No. 2 QB spot
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Browning completed each of his six passes for 42 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's 21-19 preseason loss to the Commanders.
Browning got the start and led the Bengals to seven points on two drives before turning things over to Trevor Siemian, who produced six points on five drives. One of the two will be named the No. 2 QB to start the season, with the role taking on added importance in light of Joe Burrow's continued recovery from a calf injury suffered in late July.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Unlikely to start Friday
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Browning is expected to play the entire second half of Friday's preseason game against Atlanta, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.
Browning started the Bengals' preseason opener against the Packers and played the entire first half, while Trevor Siemian handled the second half. The two quarterbacks are expected to reverse roles for Cincinnati's second exhibition as they continue to compete for the top backup spot behind Joe Burrow, who is currently sidelined with a calf injury but will likely be available for the regular season.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Expected to start Friday
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Browning is in line to start Friday's preseason game against the Packers, Bridget Condon of NFL Network reports.
With top QB Joe Burrow nursing a calf injury, Condon notes that Browning and Trevor Siemian are slated to see QB reps for the Bengals on Friday, while it's also possible that Reid Sinnett could factor in.
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Jake Browning: Back to practice squad
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Browning reverted to the Bengals' practice squad Monday, per the NFL's transaction log.
Browning was elevated for the final two weeks of the regular season and AFC Championship Game, but he simply operated as an emergency backup option behind Brandon Allen and Joe Burrow. The fourth-year quarterback originally joined the league as an undrafted free agent out of Washington and still is looking to make his NFL debut.
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Jake Browning: Cut by Cincy
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The Bengals waived Browning on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
With Joe Burrow (appendix) sidelined, Browning spilt quarterback duties with Brandon Allen during the preseason, but as expected, Allen beat Browning out for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. Browning's release suggests that Burrow should be 100 percent by Week 1, and it's also possible that the Bengals opt to sign Browning to their practice squad if he clears waivers.
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Jake Browning: Back to practice squad
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Browning reverted to Cincinnati's practice squad Monday, per the NFL's official transaction log.
Browing was elevated to the Bengals' active roster ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Browns, but he failed to sniff the field. He's yet to make his NFL debut.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Inactive against Kansas City
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Browning (coach's decision) is inactive Sunday against the Chiefs, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Browning was elevated from the Bengals' practice squad to the active roster Saturday. However, that was likely insurance for Brandon Allen (illness), who was also activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday. Browning has not been active for a game this season.
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Bengals' Jake Browning: Moves to active roster
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Browning was elevated to the active roster Saturday, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.
It's a little curious the Bengals will have three quarterbacks active for Sunday's tilt against the Chiefs, but with no negative news regarding the status of starter Joe Burrow, don't expect Browning or No. 2 QB Brandon Allen to see much time on the field.
