NFL insider suggests Bengals should keep tabs on retired quarterback as alternative to trading for another backup

If the losses keep stacking up for the Cincinnati Bengals with Jake Browning at quarterback, trade speculation will keep rising with them.

Browning has not been enough for Cincinnati to win in either of his first two starts. The Bengals have been outscored by a combined 63 points since the backup QB's miraculous victory off the bench in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Should Cincy look for other options, names such as Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Kirk Cousins have come up via insiders and analysts alike. Passers who are still on teams and actually in the league make sense, but one insider threw out a recently retired QB as a potential alternative.

Should the Bengals check in on Derek Carr?

Instead of trading draft picks for a veteran on the bench seeking playing time, Cincinnati could simply ask Derek Carr if he wants to come out of retirement.

Carr announced his decision to step away from football back in May due to a shoulder injury. He would've missed the entire 2025 season had he undergone surgery, and ultimately decided to not play through it and put the New Orleans Saints in limbo. The club had owed him $40 million this year and pocketed $30 million with his retirement.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler floated Carr's name as a suggestion for the Bengals should they pursue options outside to start over Browning.

"The Bengals still believe in Jake Browning, who was far from the only culprit in Denver on Monday, but Cincinnati has too much skill position talent to accept the status quo. At some point, it could need reinforcements at the game's most important position. It might be worth calling up recently retired Derek Carr to check on how his shoulder injury is healing." — ESPN's Jeremy Fowler

The biggest hurdle here is simply getting a retired player to come out of retirement, but for Carr, that may not be a tall ask. The 34-year old told Dan Patrick recently that while a comeback isn't imminent, he wants to be ready if the opportunity comes.

“I throw a football every now and then with my kids and to my buddy for fun because it’s part of my rehab for my shoulder," Carr said. "I’m still doing those things, I’ve always felt like, even though I’m done, if God wanted me to do it, I gotta be ready. I don’t want to go out there and not be ready. I’ll be ready, but I’m not coming back. Right now, today, I’m not coming back.”

If Carr decides it's worth it to take the field again, the Bengals would make as much sense as his former team in New Orleans. There's also been minimal chatter regarding Cincinnati's interest in acquiring a new QB, and that may be the biggest hurdle at the end of the day.