Cincinnati is set to add two quarterbacks to the practice squad as the Bengals move ahead with Jake Browning at the controls in place of Joe Burrow.
Burrow, injured in Sunday’s win over the Jaguars, will undergo surgery on a Grade 3 turf toe injury with an expected recovery time that stretches into mid-December.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor professed “full confidence” in Browning as the QB1 with Cincinnati expected to elevate Brett Rypien to the 53-man roster from the practice squad to be the backup at Minnesota this week.
“It’s a rollercoaster,” Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase said. “Every game is going to be a rollercoaster. Every week from here on out, we’ve got to focus and execute. That’s the only thing. Our quarterback got (knocked) down, we’ve got to go ‘Next man up,’ and it’s on from there.”
Browning, 29, has played in 13 career games with 14 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions, including three picks in Sunday’s 31-27 win against Jacksonville.
“If you’re wearing a Bengals uniform on Sunday, I’m going to give you a chance and go down swinging,” Browning said of his demeanor.
The Bengals reportedly signed former Penn State and Packers quarterback Sean Clifford and former Dolphins, Jets and Bills quarterback Mike White to their practice squad on Tuesday.
White played in one game for the Bills in 2024 but his most memorable moment in the NFL was against the Bengals in 2021. Making his first NFL start, White threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jets to a 34-31 win over the Bengals on Halloween. He also caught a two-point conversion from Jamison Crowder with 3:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Clifford, who grew up in Cincinnati, was a fifth-round pick of the Packers in 2023 and was the primary backup to Jordan Love as a rookie. Clifford was the No. 3 QB in Green Bay in 2024 and lost that job to Clayton Tune, also a fifth-rounder in 2023, during training camp and was released last month.
