As the new NFL league year has officially begun, the Cincinnati Bengals saw former backup quarterback Jake Browning find his next NFL home. After not applying any tags or tenders to Browning, he was set to become a free agent on Wednesday at 4 PM.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Browning intends to sign a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Browning had a respectable run for the Bengals in 2023. After Joe Burrow went down with a wrist injury, Browning stepped in and threw for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. While he didn’t match what they lost in Burrow, he kept them in games and even playoff contention down to the end of the season.
2025 was a bit different for Browning. When Burrow went down with a turf toe injury in Week 2, Browning stepped in and while he threw three interceptions, ultimately engineered a thrilling comeback victory, capped off by a quarterback sneak for the game winning touchdown.
It was all downhill from there. In his first start of 2025, he threw two interceptions in a blowout loss to the Minnesota Vikings, followed by a complete offensive failure the following week against the Denver Broncos. It was clear Browning wasn’t going to play at a 2023 level.
The final straw was a three-pick performance at home against the Detroit Lions in Week 5. After that, the Bengals traded for Joe Flacco and started him just days later against the Green Bay Packers.
Flacco is a free agent as of now, and with Browning headed to Tampa, the Bengals have a gaping hole at the backup quarterback position and may push hard to get Flacco back.