When Jake Browning stepped in for the injured Joe Burrow during Week 11, pretty much everyone wrote off the Cincinnati Bengals as a playoff team this season. After all, how could an undrafted free agent who had never taken an NFL regular season snap take over for one of the game’s best young quarterbacks?
Instead of the Bengals becoming irrelevant with an inexperienced backup quarterback and just playing out the string, Browning is setting records and becoming the best bargain in the NFL.
Jake Browning and his deal with Cincinnati Bengals
Browning, who played collegiately for the Washington Huskies, signed with the Bengals practice squad in 2021 after being cut by the Minnesota Vikings. In February, Cincinnati signed Browning to a $750,000 one-year exclusive rights free agent deal with the Bengals before the 2023 season.
Cincinnati’s long snapper Cal Adomitis, in his second season out of Pitt, is set to make $870,000 this season. Yes, the Cincinnati Bengals’ long snapper is making more this season than the quarterback who has taken the NFL by storm.
In addition to lighting up the record book, Browning has clearly become the best bargain in the NFL this season. Brock Purdy, the leading MVP candidate and quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, makes just $934,000 annually and is one of the league’s best bargains.
Jake Browning is rewriting the NFL record books
Jake Browning is setting records and has the Bengals in the middle of the AFC playoff hunt. Another record fell Sunday when the Bengals fought from behind at home to beat the Minnesota Vikings thanks to Browning’s heroics. Browning became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 1,000 passing yards with a 75% completion rate.
When the Bengals head to Pittsburgh for this weekend’s key AFC North matchup, Browning can increase Cincinnati’s chances of remaining in the playoff hunt with a win. If the Bengals win, their chances of making it increase to 54%. If they lose, it would fall to 11%. In a year where they’ve started slow, and then lost their starting franchise quarterback, the fact Browning and the Bengals are still in the mix has been a surprise.
In Week 14, Browning’s 79.3 completion percentage was the best mark by an NFL quarterback through three career starts in league history. This came after the team’s dominating performance over the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football in Week 13. Browning completed 32 of 37 passes for 354 yards and an eye-popping 115.5 quarterback rating in that game putting the AFC on notice.
Over his four games, Browning has passed for 1,248 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. He’s completed 106 of 144 (73.6%) and led his team to two come-from-behind victories in two of his three starts.
Jake Browning must wait if he wants a pay raise
It might be two seasons until Jake Browning could capitalize financially on his early success with the Bengals — even if it is in a relief role. The Bengals will have the ability to tender him another league-minimum contract after this season, and he’d be a restricted free agent in 2025 meaning the Bengals could increase their qualifying offer to retain Burrow’s valuable backup.
While Browning will be making less than the guy centering the ball on special teams against the Steelers on Sunday, there’s no doubting his value and ability to help Cincinnati make the playoffs in what has been a challenging year can’t be measured by his contract.