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Jake Browning angry about being benched for Joe Flacco
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Bengals QB Jake Browning angry about being benched for Joe Flacco, but team had no choice

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning has officially been benched, and he is not taking it lightly.

Browning has started the last three games for the Bengals in the wake of a toe injury that Joe Burrow suffered in Week 2. After going 0-3 in those games, the Bengals decided to acquire Joe Flacco in a trade with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced on Wednesday that Flacco will start in Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers. That means the new guy is taking Browning's job right away, which is hardly a surprise.

Jake Browning is not happy about losing his job

Browning spoke with reporters shortly after Taylor revealed that Flacco will start in Green Bay. The 29-year-old quarterback said the situation "sucks" but that he understands how the business of the NFL works.

"I think it sucks but, like I said, everyone's in the middle of a season. I think, 'Welcome to pro football,'" Browning said. "If you don't play well, you're gonna get replaced, and that's what I'm going through."

Browning also admitted he is angry over being benched. Though, he said he is not willing to shoulder the blame for everything that has gone wrong for Cincinnati since Burrow went down.

"For me, I'm trying to respond the right way. Obviously, I'm pi--ed. If I wasn't pi--ed, then I shouldn't be in this locker room," Browning added. "I'm aware of the role I played in the offensive struggles over the last few weeks, but I'm also not shouldering the entire situation. I went through yesterday, watched my throws, tried to come up with some stuff I want to work on, and just doing that."

Zac Taylor had no choice but to make a switch

Browning threw three interceptions in Cincinnati's 37-24 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. He completed 26 of 40 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns as well, but anything positive that the veteran did came when the game was essentially out of hand.

In his two starts prior to the Lions loss, Browning threw for a total of 265 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The Bengals scored 13 points in the two games combined. Ja'Marr Chase looked extremely frustrated at times and even had a heated exchange with Taylor on the sideline.

Taylor had been facing tremendous pressure from fans to make a quarterback change. It would not be a surprise if Cincinnati's front office and some players expressed a desire for Browning to be benched, as well.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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