The QB Cincy needed: Jake Browning making most of his unexpected chance

Jake Browning is writing an astonishing, seemingly out-of-nowhere success tale. It only took him five years to get here.

On the outskirts of the NFL, there is a general career path for a certain type of quarterback. These cats were the absolute best talent their hometown had ever produced, and they played their way into university legends. They’ll one day operate a successful insurance firm or car dealership in their college town, but not before they take one final shot at an NFL career.

Most of the time, they’ll obtain a job as a backup, donning a baseball cap and sitting on the bench for a season or two. They’ll get a mop-up series or a spot start as an injury replacement, and they’ll be able to tell their golf mates about Aaron Donald sacking them or Jalen Ramsey intercepting them for the rest of their lives. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a bad way to end a football career.

Jake Browning appeared to be set on this path. He went on to have a good career at Washington after being a high school star in Folsom, California, where he threw a record 91 touchdowns his senior year and 229 touchdowns in his career. He signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2019 after being named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2016. He spent the majority of his two years with the organization on the practice squad.

 

 

Browning was let go permanently by Minnesota in September 2021, and he addressed the possibility of his career ending in an emotional Instagram post. “So, now what?” he wondered. “Right now, my plan is to find some volunteer coaching opportunities and to stay in shape in case I get a call for a tryout somewhere.” There is always the possibility of a comeback, but I don’t want that to prevent me from living my life.” A few days later, Browning was rescued by Cincinnati, who signed him to another practice team. Earlier this preseason, he worked his way onto the active roster.

Browning finally took a regular-season NFL snap earlier this year, after four seasons on the outside looking in. In Cincinnati’s season-opening 24-3 loss to Cleveland, he played garbage time, throwing an incomplete pass, handing off twice, and kneeling down to end the game. If Joe Burrow had remained fit, that would have been the end of Browning’s 2023 output.

When Burrow sustained a season-ending wrist injury, Browning’s career shifted into overdrive. He lost his first start, against Pittsburgh in late November, but he has been one of the league’s hottest quarterbacks ever since.

 

 

He has completed 79 throws for 953 yards, five touchdowns, two interceptions, and, most significantly, three victories in the last three games. He has kept the Bengals in the thick of a playoff race, maintaining pace with the six other teams within one game of them.

Browning’s pivotal moment in this run — in fact, one of the pivotal moments in the entire season — came just last week, when he guided the Bengals to an overtime victory over the Vikings. Yes, the same Vikings who let Browning go without even a phone call.

“Should’ve never f***ing cut me!” Browning exclaimed, smashing his helmet to the ground with joy. “You can’t say that all week and then lose,” Browning explained afterwards. “You just wait until you win, and then you don’t look like an idiot.”

Browning’s sincerity and openness have earned him plaudits from his colleagues and Bengals fans. Burrow made his suite available to Browning’s family. And he’s starting to receive some attention while he’s out and about in Cincinnati.”I can blend in pretty well,” he admitted last week. “I’m not really noticeable. That’s most likely why it took me so long to get on the field.”

 

 

 

His low-key demeanor has also aided the Bengals on the field. “Jake’s just so consistent, you know?” “He truly is,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor stated following the Bengals’ victory over the Vikings. “A poor play does not faze him. He does not overreact.” Taylor mentioned how Browning bounced back from an interception against Minnesota to lead a critical touchdown drive the next time he touched the ball.

Cincinnati currently has the sixth playoff slot, which means a meeting with Kansas City, thanks to head-to-head tiebreakers over Indianapolis and Buffalo. The Bengals complete the regular season with road games against the Steelers and Chiefs before hosting the same Browns that beat them in September.

Browning is nearing the end of his one-year, $750,000 deal with the Bengals. Another, much larger one is very certainly on the way, whether in Cincinnati to assist Burrow or in another city to run the show himself.It appears that the post-football hometown employment will have to wait a little longer.

 

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