The Cincinnati Bengals made a move on Tuesday afternoon, signing Washington quarterback Jake Browning to their practice squad. In order to add Browning, the Bengals had to make a move and they decided to release punter Drue Chrisman, which shows how much they wanted Browning on their practice squad.
While it was bizarre to have a punter on the practice squad, the Bengals clearly liked Chrisman and wanted him to be the next Kevin Huber for them. That could certainly still happen but for now, he won’t be on the Bengals’ practice squad.
Signing Browning gives the Bengals three quarterbacks now, as Joe Burrow and Brandon Allen are both on the active roster. Kyle Shurmur and Eric Dungey auditioned for the third-string job this summer but to no avail. Browning had previously spent time with Minnesota, which could be what this move is about — Trying to get any advantage they can against their Week 1 opponent.
Bengals signed former Univ. of Washington, Vikings QB Jake Browning to the practice squad. P Drue Chrisman released to make space.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) September 7, 2021
The Bengals have a new quarterback on their roster but had to release a player to make that happen.
Browning played for Washington from 2015-2018 and threw for a total of 12,296 yards, 94 touchdowns, and 34 interceptions for the Huskies during his four years there. He went undrafted in 2019 and spent time with the Vikings over the past two years before being waived earlier this month.
Adding Browning probably doesn’t mean much for the Bengals, as Burrow is the starter. If, however, Burrow gets injured at some point this year and Allen struggles as a spot starter, that could be Browning’s shot to show that he can be a decent backup somewhere.
Will Browning remain on the practice squad past the Week 1 matchup?
Will the Bengals end up re-signing Chrisman later on down the road?
There are a few questions with this move but we’ll have more answers in the coming days more than likely.