Three reasons Bengals must add another QB

Following the Bengals' Week 11 loss to the Ravens, the team announced QB Joe Burrow is out for the remainder of the season. Here are three reasons why Cincinnati must add another quarterback with just QB Jack Browning left on the active roster.

A reason to compete

Losing Burrow for the rest of the year certainly gives the Bengals a close to zero chance of making a run for a Super Bowl. However, they still have one of the most talented offenses in the league and can take pride in ending a couple of their rivals' seasons.

Cincinnati plays the Steelers twice and the Browns once. Both teams are fighting for a wild-card spot and have far worse offenses than the Bengals. It is just a consolation prize, but why not have a little fun before putting your sights on 2024?

Higgins contract year

WR Tee Higgins, Cincinnati's 2020 second-round pick, is in the final year of his rookie deal and the team must decide whether it wants to extend him this offseason. Based on Higgins' first three seasons in the league, when he had 215 catches for 3,027 yards and 19 touchdowns, it would make sense to do so.

However, the fourth-year wide receiver has underwhelmed this year, posting just 27 catches for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, some of that is a product of Burrow missing time, but the Bengals would surely like to see him turn his season around before making a significant investment in him.

No need to tank

Unlike many teams in the league, Cincinnati is set for the next decade-plus at quarterback, which means it doesn't need a top five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. There will still be other talented players available if the Bengals were to lose the majority of their games, but after spending several years as one of the worst teams in the NFL, they likely don't want to be among them again.

Cincinnati could have its sights set on Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. or Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt, two of the top players at their positions. However, in order to get either of them, the rest of 2023 would have to be painful for Bengals fans to watch, and the team doesn't need a top 10 draft pick to get where it wants to go in 2024 and beyond.