The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed former Bengals QB Jake Browning to a 1 year deal.
Browning was originally scheduled to be a RFA, but the Bengals declined to tender him, which allowed him to become a UFA.
He was originally signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2019. After spending a couple of seasons on their practice squad, the Bengals signed him to theirs prior to the 2021 season.
On the practice squad, he served as the 3rd string QB behind Joe Burrow and Brandon Allen. After Allen left in 2023, Browning beat out Trevor Siemian for the backup job.
In week 11 of that season, Burrow suffered a season ending injury. Browning started for the rest of the year, leading the team to 4 wins, nearly getting them into the playoffs. Despite some ups and downs, Browning did enough to earn more respect as a backup QB in the league, and no longer had to face competition for his job behind Burrow.
When Burrow again got hurt in week 1 of the 2025 season, Browning came in and led the team to a thrilling comeback win over the Jaguars. He snuck it in from a year out in the dying seconds to win the game. Unfortunately, his next three starts against the Vikings, Broncos, and Lions, respectively, saw everything go downhill.
After three abysmal performances, the Bengals traded for Joe Flacco. Browning was relegated again to a backup job, before falling to 3rd string when Burrow returned later in the year.
The Bengals are still hoping to get Flacco back, but will have to search for a replacement if he leaves in free agency. In the meantime, they did pick up Josh Johnson, but I’d expect him to be more of a backup plan than someone they actually want in the QB2 position. As for Browning, he’ll hope to win the backup job in Tampa, behind Baker Mayfield.
In other news, the Denver Broncos have signed former Bengals S Tycen Anderson to a 1 year/$1.5M deal.
This deal was initially thought to be done yesterday, but it had reportedly not yet gotten across the finish line. Now, however, it is official.
Anderson was originally a 5th round pick of the Bengals in 2022. Injuries made things tough on him early on, but eventually, he became one of the team’s best special teamers. Additionally, he took on a bigger role as a leader of that unit when Stanley Morgan left in 2024.
There were times in the preseason where he really stood out, and seemed poised to make a run at more defensive snaps. However, some of his injuries came right at the worst time. He played a very small handful of snaps this past season, but for the most part, was never used beyond special teams.
If Anderson makes the team in Denver, he’ll likely fill a similar role. The Bengals may opt to replace him in free agency or the draft, but PJ Jules’ emergence on special teams may see his role continue to grow instead.
