When Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury that is expected to rule him out for roughly three months, the
When Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury that is expected to rule him out for roughly three months, the Cincinnati Bengals knew there could be trouble afoot. But after a 2-0 start, they quickly threw their support behind Burrow’s backup quarterback, Jake Browning.
Considering Browning did help the Bengals hand the Jacksonville Jaguars their only loss of the season, sticking with who they already knew made sense. Plus, Bengals coach Zac Taylor and the team’s receiving corps should have a strong understanding of what to expect from the QB who’s been in Cincinnati, operating as one of Burrow’s backups since 2021.
Unfortunately, the Bengals aren’t getting what they were looking for with Browning. He’s led the team to three consecutive losses while being one shy of leading the NFL in interceptions. He does, however, have the NFL’s highest interception rate, throwing a pick on 6.5% of his attempts this season. That is not a stat that any quarterback wants.
Needless to say, coach Taylor is finally admitting that it’s a “fair question” to wonder whether the Bengals need to make a change at QB. While a short-term option would be to make in-house options like Brett Rypien, Mike White or Sean Clifford the job, there’s a reason all those players have been career backups thus far. Maybe it’s time to find someone with a lot more starting experience.
Below, we dive into five Bengals QB upgrades to consider this week, and they’ve all either earned Pro Bowl nods or won a Super Bowl as a starter.
Joe Flacco
Inner-division trades rarely happen. Ones involving veteran quarterbacks in the middle of the season? Good luck. Odds are, the Bengals could find a better quarterback at a lower price than dealing with their rivals. While the Browns may want to hold onto Flacco so he can offer valuable insight to the two young rookie quarterbacks in Cleveland, if they wanted to do right by their veteran QB, they’d let him seek an opportunity where he could see the field. He’d be an immediate starter in Cincinnati, yet after failing to score more than 20 points in any individual game for Cleveland, the Bengals could likely do better.
Jameis Winston
Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have to be getting a bit irritated with their production. The dynamic duo went from averaging 100.5 and 75.9 YPG in 2024 to 74.8 and 31.6 YPG in 2025. If the Bengals want to make their receivers happy by getting them a QB who can definitely make throws downfield, then we can’t think of a much better option than this former No. 1 overall pick. Winston has always had a bit of an issue with interceptions and accuracy, but he could certainly provide a spark to Cincinnati’s offense, giving them a chance in each game they play.
Russell Wilson
Yes, Wilson got benched, but having first-round rookie Jaxson Dart waiting in the wings didn’t help after a winless start to the Giants’ season. New York has issues, along the offensive line, coaching, and a lack of proven secondary receivers after the Malik Nabers injury. Well, some of those same issues stand in Cincinnati, but they do have two top-notch receivers who could thrive with Wilson throwing them moon balls. Plus, of the two Giants QBs, he may be easier to obtain, since Wilson is under contract through the rest of this season. Meanwhile, Winston signed a two-year deal in New York, so he’s primed to return as Dart’s top backup in 2026.
Kirk Cousins
The four-time Pro Bowler may never see the light of day again in Atlanta. While he has a full no-trade clause, the opportunity to go play, even if it’s just for a few weeks, could be too good to turn down for Cousins. Plus, coach Taylor was with the Rams from 2017 to 2018, and Sean McVay arrived in LA in 2017, meaning Taylor was there when the offense got installed. Considering Cousins’ previous coach in Minnesota, Kevin O’Connell, learning under coach McVay, chances are learning Taylor’s offense wouldn’t take Cousins as long as it may take a few other veterans on this list.
Derek Carr
Carr is currently retired after dealing with a lingering shoulder issue that wouldn’t go away. We haven’t gotten a status update on Carr since before the season kicked off, so it’s possible his shoulder hasn’t improved.
However, if the 34-year-old four-time Pro Bowler is willing to give it a go, then he may be the best option Cincinnati has. Even though he’s retired, he’s technically still under contract, so the Bengals would still need to work out a trade with the Saints. But both sides could be motivated to move on and get a deal done that makes everyone happy.
Related: Cincinnati Bengals Urged to Pull Former Pro Bowl QB Out of Retirement
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