Bengals Roster: Realistic expectations for Jake Browning in 2022

Jake Browning is entering his second year on the Cincinnati Bengals roster. What should fans expect from the quarterback in 2022?

When trying to predict the Cincinnati Bengals‘ 53-man roster for the 2022 season, the quarterback position is pretty easy to lock down. Joe Burrow is going to be the starter and Brandon Allen will be the backup. That leaves Jake Browning as the odd man out.

Browning played his college football at Washington and went undrafted in 2019. He signed with the Vikings as a UDFA and spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons on their practice squad. During the summer of 2021, Browning was waived by Minnesota and soon found his way onto the Bengals’ roster.

Browning was active for one game during the 2021 season and that was in the regular-season finale. Burrow sat out that week due to the good guys having the division locked up so Browning got to sit behind Allen for the final regular-season game.

Bengals Roster: What should fans expect from Jake Browning in 2022?

Let’s just cut to the chase here — If Jake Browning is playing any meaningful snaps in 2022 then something has gone terribly, terribly wrong. It’d likely mean that Burrow got hurt and either Allen followed with an injury of his own or was so underwhelming as the starter that the team decided to give Browning a shot.

More than likely, Browning hangs out on the practice squad throughout the season and maybe gets called up to the big leagues if Burrow or Allen get injured. He could also see some backup time if Cincinnati wins the division before the final week of the regular season and Burrow gets to sit out for the final game.

Jake Browning probably won’t have a career as a starting quarterback and fans are certainly hoping that we don’t see much of him during the 2022 season. That’s the life of a third-string quarterback.