Jake Browning

With Trey Lance hitting injured reserve, the Chargers worked out multiple quarterbacks Tuesday, eventually signing Browning. A former backup to Joe Burrow, Browning lost the Buccaneers’ backup job to Jalon Daniels this offseason. He now joins a Chargers team keen on adding some depth behind Justin Herbert with Lance out and DJ Uiagalelei on the 53-man roster.

Jalon Daniels won the backup job in Tampa Bay. Browning was pretty unimpressive in 2025 and didn’t win a job over a rookie UDFA — it may not be easy for him to find a roster spot elsewhere.

It’s easy to say “why?” and harder to say “why?” when the current backup quarterback on Tampa’s roster is 2025 UDFA Connor Bazelak. Browning has at least thrown well in NFL games before and is only entering his age-30 season. What he did last year wasn’t good enough, of course, but he’ll compete to hold the clipboard for the Bucs.

Browning split his first five years in the NFL between the Vikings and Bengals’ practice squads. He finally won the backup job in Cincy in 2023 and went on to throw for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while making seven starts in place of an injured Joe Burrow. He signed a two-year deal with the Bengals after the season. Browning took over as the starter in 2025 after Burrow went down with a foot injury. Things did not go as smoothly this time around and he was eventually benched for Joe Flacco, whom the Bengals had to acquire via trade. Though the Bengals threw in the towel on Browning, another team will see his 2023 tape and give him a shot to win their QB2 job in camp.

Browning took over for an injured Joe Burrow early in the year but was an utter disaster. The Bengals eventually had enough and traded for Joe Flacco, who remained the starter until Burrow returned from his turf toe injury. Browning is a restricted free agent at the end of the year, meaning the Bengals could keep him around on a team-friendly deal if they want to give him another shot at the QB2 gig.

Browning was doomed to a QB2 role once the Bengals traded for Joe Flacco earlier this week. He had eight interceptions in less than four full games this year. The Bengals were 0-3 with Browning at the helm. They were out-scored 37-113 in his three starts. Flacco has also struggled to start the year, but he should at least give the Bengals a higher weekly floor.

Rypien is on the 53-man roster as Browning’s backup while Clifford and White are currently on the team’s practice squad. Dehner Jr. put it bluntly, “Any options left open to, theoretically, replace Browning in Green Bay would have to come from outside the building.” With no outside additions made yet, Browning will get at least one more week as the starter. It is, however, clear that his leash is shrinking by the weak. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said earlier this week that the team is evaluating the quarterback position like any other heading into Week 6. The Giants have two backup quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, who could both be moved now that Jaxson Dart is the starter. Kirk Cousins is also sitting on the Falcons bench waiting for an opportunity of his own, though his bloated contract makes a trade difficult to swing.

The “evaluate it” bit is often the first step before a quarterback gets relieved of their duties. Browning’s confidence sounded shot in interviews after the game, and it would be surprising if the Bengals didn’t have a new quarterback at some point in the near future. The problem is that the only other one on their roster is Brett Rypien, and the Bengals are not often a team that has made win-now trades in search of better options. Still, throwing the “evaluate” quote out there shows that Browning won’t hold this job much longer without an immediate turnaround — if he’s given the chance — in Week 6.

The question about Taylor’s belief in Browning came following Taylor’s postgame remarks in which he said the team will “look at all personnel to make sure we’re doing the right thing.” Browning hasn’t been great in place of Joe Burrow. The backup has done most of his stat padding in meaningless garbage time, but the options behind him, which include journeymen Brett Rypien and Mike White, are unlikely to be much better. This felt like an inevitable problem the Bengals would face the moment Burrow (toe) went down in Week 2, but the Bengals’ offense has imploded in quick fashion. Since Week 3, the Bengals rank last in EPA per play, 31st in dropback success rate, and 29th in offensive success rate. It’s not good, folks. We’ll see if a change comes down the line, but as far as fantasy is concerned, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will be more inconsistent than usual no matter who is starting next week.

It took a while for Browning to get going against the Lions in Week 5 — if you believe he ever got going. He tossed three interceptions and Cincinnati fell behind 28-3 before Browning’s first touchdown, which came in the fourth quarter. He followed that up with two more touchdown drives, each of which only took about two minutes off the clock. Browning displayed some of that quick strike ability we saw in 2023 when he took over for Joe Burrow. He leaned on his top receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins with two of his touchdowns going to Chase and the other going to Higgins. Browning is nothing more than a low-end QB2 against the Packers in Week 6.

Browning and the Bengals actually scored first in this one, effectively matriculating the ball downfield on the opening drive before coming away with three points. Once the scripted plays were gone, things fell apart. That was their only drive totaling more than six plays. They went three-and-out four times. To Browning’s credit, he was willing to target Ja’Marr Chase in tight coverage early, but the two simply failed to connect on Browning’s deep passes. Browning also rushed three times for four yards. He is a low-end QB2 against the Lions in Week 5.

Making his first start in place of Joe Burrow (foot surgery), Browning had one of the worst games by any quarterback so far this season. His picks were two of five Bengals turnovers, though he helped get the proceedings started with an 87-yard pick-six. Browning made a poor decision into a “whole pack of Vikings.” His second interception came with the Bengals losing 41-3 in the third quarter. Those sort of throws happen, but Browning didn’t appear to be part of any potential post-Burrow solution this afternoon. That being said, his skill corps isn’t going to be losing three fumbles every week. With Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at his disposal, Browning will probably come on the streamer radar at some point. That will not include Week 4 on the road against the Broncos.

Schefter mentioned more high school football stats than sources in his tweet, so it’s unclear if he’s getting this “report” from the team or if it’s just informed speculation. Either way, it does look like the Bengals will ride out Joe Burrow’s foot injury with Browning under center. Browning went 4-3 as a starter in 2023 and led the league with a 70.4 percent completion rate. He threw 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions and averaged 267 yards per game in his starts. The team then signed him to a two-year contract extension in the offseason. Browning is one of the league’s better backups and starting-caliber quarterbacks aren’t readily available via trade. There is a chance Burrow returns late in the year, but fantasy managers should be operating as if Browning is the Bengals’ starter for the remainder of the season.

Browning took over for Joe Burrow late in the second quarter when the latter suffered a toe injury on a sack. Burrow went in for an MRI and was spotted on a scooter during halftime. He did not return. Browning struggled at times, tossing two interceptions that were his fault and a third where his receiver stopped on the route, leading to an easy pick for the Jaguars’ secondary. Just like he did when the Bengals called on him in 2023, Browning was given plenty of screens, getting the ball into his best players’ hands without asking much of the backup passer. He then stepped up in the fourth quarter, leading the Bengals on a 92-yard scoring drive, which he capped with a one-yard rushing score. The Jags couldn’t make anything of the final 18 seconds and Browning came away with the win. With Burrow’s status for Week 3 unknown at this time, Browning will be a must-add in Superflex and 2QB formats.