Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) throws from the pocket in the second quarter of the NFL Week 4 Monday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NFL Insider Notes Bengals Latest Stance on Adding Starting QB Competition For Jake Browning

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Oct 5, 2025 9:35 AM ET

Jake Browning isn't going anywhere down the depth chart for the Bengals soon. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport declared on Sunday that the team is confident in Browning and will not currently look for a move to give him competition as the starter.

He's coming off two sub-30 ESPN QBR outings and has a 67.3 pass rating this season.

"It's safe to say the two games following star quarterback Joe Burrow's toe injury have not gone according to plan for the Cincinnati Bengals," Rapoport wrote. "Two games started by Jake Browning have resulted in two blowout losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos, respectively.

"Yet inside the Bengals building, they remain confident in their backup QB. 'Unwavering' is how head coach Zac Taylor described his confidence this past week ahead of Sunday's game against the Lions. To that end, the Bengals have not had trade talks for any veteran to come in and start, sources say. Not the Giants' Russell Wilson or the Falcons' Kirk Cousins or anyone in between."

Browning or no Browning, the roster has shown to be so far away from championship level through two games that there's no guarantee a moderate upgrade over Browning on paper could even get them to competitive status, let alone win more than half the remaining games left to give Joe Burrow a reason to return.

Yet, it can be a dangerous game to play, letting a season just sputter out before Halloween after starting 2-0. ESPN's FPI currently gives the Bengals a 10.2% chance to make the playoffs, half the likelihood of the next 2-2 team (Chicago is at 20.2%).

It's just a really tough spot for the Bengals, no matter how you slice it. Either let Browning figure it out in hopes of it not being too late when things click, or scramble and trade assets for a clearly flawed player, which is another added cost and requires the same time leash Browning is experiencing now to get up to speed.

It would've been easier to just beef up the offensive line earlier in the offseason so it could gel in front of Burrow across a whole spring and summer. 20/20 hindsight through the jungle vines, and foresight that many people worried about months ago.